Another Day Another Loss
April 6, 2024 Tuchel made some changes to the lineup, possibly due to the previous match or possibly due to the coming match on Tuesday in London. Sven Ulreich again started in goal with Joshua Kimmich, Dayot Upamecano, Kim MinJae and Alphonso Davies in defense. Konrad Laimer and Leon Goretzka started on the sixes while Thomas Müller, Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry played behind Harry Kane up top.
Three Things We Noticed
Good Start Turns Sour
Bayern started off the match extremely well. They dominated play passing through the defense and creating chances. Towards the middle of the first half they had taken their foot off the gas a little but then found the net twice prior to the end of the half to go in with a 0-2 lead.
The second half could not have been more different though. Heidenheim came out and scored two quick goals in the 50th and 51st minutes and stamped their will on the match for the second 45. Thus it was really no surprise when the hosts added a third in the 79th minute to take the lead and ultimately win the match.
This match followed a common script over the last several seasons. Bayern show up for 30 minutes and look awful the other 60. This season it’s finally catching up with them. The players do not have the mental fortitude or confidence to overcome these situations any longer and Tuchel made no obvious adjustments to help them.
Defensive Woes
The second half problems were exemplified by the center back pairing of Upamecano and Kim. Both of them made key mistakes on the goals and at times looked completely lost in the second half.
Yet again, the sixes didn’t really do much to help and I think it’s starting to look safe to say that the low lying Goretzka experiment that was so successful for a couple of weeks was more of an anomaly than an a stroke of genius.
This team has too much talent on the defensive end to be as bad as they are and the mistakes being made by the central defenders today are completely inexcusable. Of course those types of errors are entirely on them but it must be said that I don’t think Tuchel has done anything to help.
This entire team is lacking confidence. Of course the players themselves are partly responsible for this but Tuchel also has a significant role to play. The manager has to be there to help pick up the players and instill confidence in them. It’s normal for a team to go through lulls during the season but I have seen no evidence of Tuchel doing anything to help the players during these times.
Small Bright Spots
Despite the negative result and poor play from the defense, there were a couple of bright spots. Gnabry in particular looks to be hitting his form at a great time and Kane continued his fantastic season by adding to his tally.
Kimmich and Davies also played an important role in the attack with Davies providing an assist and Kimmich making some nice long over the top passes to initiate breaks.
Whether these small bright spots will be enough on Tuesday is anyones guess. If they play the way they have most of this season, it seems unlikely they’ll come out of London without a loss. If however they step it up and play to their potential, they might even head back to Munich with a win. I wouldn’t bet on that though.
