15 February 2024 , 10:54
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Thomas Tuchel once again risked the wrath of Bayern Munich chiefs as he openly criticised his side following defeat to Lazio.
The German coach singled out Dayot Upamecano after the French defender conceded a penalty that Ciro Immobile converted in the second period of the Champions League last 16 clash. Defeat in Rome saw Bayern record consecutive losses after Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen also earned a victory against Tuchel's men.
It was the 10th defeat of Tuchel's tenure after 43 matches in charge of the Bundesliga giants. The 50-year-old reached the mark 41 games sooner than predecessor Julian Nagelsmann.
"Worried about my future? No I am not," Tuchel said following the game. However, he produced a damning assessment of Bayern's second half performance, placing the blame at their door rather than crediting Lazio.
Tuchel said: "We're frustrated and angry about the defeat. I think we lost the game, I'm not sure Lazio won it.
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"We did everything we could to fall behind, making errors and losing confidence. (There was) no need for Upamecano to go in like that. It's not wild or intentional - but just block the shot.
"We started well, had a chance in the first minute and then with Harry Kane and then with Jamal Musiala. We had the game under control in the first half.
Thomas Tuchel is under a mounting pressure at Bayern Munich (Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)"But in the second our performance dropped inexplicably. We made too many individual errors and made our opponents stronger and we lost concentration. We lost our rhythm.
"It was completely our responsibility. We lost a game today that in the first half looked like we could not lose it."
It's not the first time Tuchel has publicly expressed his frustrations. Earlier in January, the former Chelsea boss said he 'didn't have the feeling that we were playing for victory' in defeat to Werder Bremen. He is also said to have irritated club chiefs early in the season for lamenting the depth of the squad.
Bayern sit second in the Bundesliga and are now scrambling for success this term having won a trophy every year from 2012/13 onwards. Sporting director Christoph Freund admitted that Tuchel is struggling.
He said: "Of course Tuchel is struggling with the situation, which is very difficult for all of us. Our goal is to fight our way out of this together. We’re all in the same boat, we are together"
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