The first impression of Thomas Tuchel’s premiere appearance on the FC Bayern sidelines was rather boring. At least for those who are more interested in the manager’s clothes than in football. Because the fashion show is over for now, because unlike his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann, Tuchel does not attach great importance to being dressed hip at work, preferring to keep it functional. The tracksuit made a comeback for Bayern against Borussia Dortmund.
But otherwise a lot was like in previous years when the two best German teams met in Munich. Bayern won 4-2 (3-0). They took over the lead of the table again – and gave Tuchel a successful debut. “Everyone was aware of what was at stake today. It’s a very good start, we’re top of the standings. That will give us peace and confidence,” said Tuchel, who also found critical words. “It was a little too open for me, a little too wild. It was actually too sloppy throughout the game, with too many turnovers. But the will to work against the ball as a team was extremely high.”
The Westphalians started this duel confidently, once again, but after almost half an hour the plan to finally meet the record champions on an equal footing for a whole game was shattered. And that’s because goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made a serious mishap and then a minor mistake in his first Bundesliga game after a long injury.
Tuchel had announced “a very unfair line-up” because “there are no impressions”. But the new Bayern coach intuitively chose at least a very comprehensible line-up – and obviously managed to teach the team a little discipline and order. The back four with a somewhat more defensive Alphonso Davies than last under Nagelsmann looked well structured not only in the powerful Dortmund early phase.
Dortmund’s coach Edin Terzic had meticulously prepared for this explosive Bundesliga summit. Because he didn’t know exactly “whether Thomas Tuchel would follow Julian Nagelsmann or bring in a completely new idea”, not only the Bayern games were analyzed, but also a few from Chelsea from two years ago, when Tuchel left the London club had just taken over.
Gregor Kobel made a double mistake in goal
For Terzic, before the trip to Munich, “there was no telling what was in store for us”. In any case, he didn’t expect what happened in the 13th minute. Munich defender Dayot Upamecano hit a long ball forward from his own penalty area, actually too far. Kobel came out of his box to set up Dortmund’s next attack, but the keeper slapped the ball over the ball, which tumbled towards the goal and then over the line to make it 1-0 for Munich. “We mustn’t forget that this man is the reason we came here as leaders,” Terzic said. “We owe Gregor Kobel a lot.”
Just four minutes later, Matthijs de Ligt extended a corner kick to Thomas Müller, who scored from close range to make it 2-0. As with the first goal, Tuchel saw no reason to jump up euphorically. He sat on the bench almost stoically, first accepting the congratulations of his assistants before standing up and signaling the team not to give up.
The fact that it was 3-0 in the 23rd minute was not due to Munich’s great art of playing. Leroy Sané tested the BVB goalkeeper with a long-range shot, Kobel couldn’t hold the ball and Müller dusted off. And as if BVB hadn’t already done enough, Nico Schlotterbeck had to leave the field injured just before half-time and was replaced by ex-Munich Mats Hummels.
BVB came out of the dressing room with the intention not to admit defeat, but Bayern didn’t play along. Kingsley Coman sealed the 4-0 defeat for the Westphalians in the 50th minute, who were then lucky not to concede more goals. Because FC Bayern also played convincingly in the second half, but became a bit careless towards the end of the game. With the 1: 4 by Emre Can by penalty kick (72nd) and the 2: 4 by Donyell Malen there were still blemishes in Tuchel’s debut.
To home page
Source: Tagesspiegel
Brayden White, a veteran sports writer at Global Happening, brings his wealth of knowledge and expertise to the sports section. With over a decade of experience, he is committed to delivering high-quality coverage of the latest games and events.
