19 April 2023 , 21:31
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When Bayern Munich parachuted Thomas Tuchel in to replace Julian Nagelsmann, they harboured hopes of a famous treble win.
But those dreams are in tatters after a humiliating Champions League exit to Manchester City, with their only goal coming late in the second leg from a controversial penalty. Instead, City eased through thanks to a 3-0 win at the Etihad Stadium and a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.
Before his appointment, Tuchel had been lauded as being Pep Guardiola 's kryptonite, having, of course, won the Champions League when in charge of Chelsea, beating Guardiola and City in the final. But he proved no match for the Catalan and his City machine here. In truth it was a limp performance from Bayern, with Tuchel even being sent off after venting his fury on the touchline a couple of times too often for referee Clement Turpin's liking.
Make no bones about it, Bayern's move to sack Nagelsmann, arguably the best young manager in world football, less than two years after paying £25million to prise him from RB Leipzig, was all about winning in the here and now rather than anything long term. It has spectacularly backfired.
Bayern's failure to keep pace with City - not to mention their remarkable German Cup defeat to Freiburg on home soil, in Tuchel's second game in charge - has left them with only the Bundesliga to play for.
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The trip to City last week all but ended their chances of hitting their target for the season. At first, they held their own, but a wondergoal from Rodri set City on their way. An awful mistake from Dayot Upamecano gifted another goal, with Tuchel powerless to stop Guardiola. And though the German tactician defended his side, he had no excuses after a limp draw with Hoffenheim at the weekend either.
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The decision to appoint Tuchel will now come under scrutiny"It was a long way from what we had in mind or needed. It's difficult to digest. We played with very little energy and pace overall and had very little conviction, a lot of uncertainty," the Bayern boss fumed.
"There were so many simple mistakes, yet we had enough chances to win the game. It's not what we wanted. I really expected a different performance. The preparations were good, but we weren't able to deliver on the pitch."
He may have even sterner words for his side after Wednesday's match, with City comfortably securing their passage to the semi-finals. Again, the defeat was fulled by an Upamecano disasterclass, with the defender giving away a first-half penalty before slipping to allow Erling Haaland to score. Haaland, who missed from the spot, wasn't going to miss twice. Bayern's attackers, notably Leroy Sane, lacked that clinical edge.
Though they equalised through Joshua Kimmich's controversial penalty, Bayern's night was summed up when Tuchel was sent off, with the German giants looking to forget their City humiliation as quickly as possible.
Their exit from the Champions League will leave CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic facing questions over the gamble they took last month. Tuchel will be given time to succeed, but his awful start to life back in Germany will not please the Bavarian hoardes.
Nagelsmann had guided Bayern to a 100 per cent record in the Champions League this term. Eight wins from eight. Tuchel has led them to their only defeat in the competition this campaign... and it meant the exit.
Ejecting the German to bring in Tuchel can now only been see as being a disaster with yet another season ending in disappointment. With football the way it is right now, with the gaps between the haves and have nots so wide, the Bundesliga isn't enough.
Tuchel and Bayern will be back in the Champions League next season and will be among the favourites once again. But this time around, FC Hollywood's gamble came back to bite them.
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