MY ACCOUNT
Thomas Tuchel thinks Bayern Munich resemble “a team that has played 70 or 80 games” after the lethargic Bavarians let more Bundesliga points slip away in a 3-1 defeat at Mainz.
Bayern looked likely to extend their lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund to five points when Sadio Mane put them ahead, but an astonishing second-half collapse continued Tuchel’s troubling start to life at the club.
Goals from Ludovic Ajorque, Leandro Barreiro and Aaron Martin dealt Tuchel his third loss in seven games at the helm, denting Bayern’s hopes of an 11th consecutive league title.
Bayern have now gone four games without a win across all competitions, and Tuchel believes a lack of energy is responsible for their downturn.
“I don’t think it’s a technical or tactical problem,” Tuchel said. “We look like we have tired legs, we’re anything but fresh. It feels like we’re playing in extra time every time we take to the pitch.
“It’s very difficult to bring over new content or new ideas, because everyone is fighting with themselves right now.
“There are long phases in all the games where we’re good, and then in the short phases where we’re not. We’re letting points slip through our fingers. It’s going through our hands like sand.
“We have no energy. We look like a team that has played 70 or 80 games this season. We’re missing physicality, intensity, the foundation that you always need.”
Asked whether a lack of incentive was an issue for a group of players used to dominating the Bundesliga, Tuchel said: “I don’t think it’s down to a big motivational problem when it comes to an 11th or 12th title.
“We have the best squad in the league, we have the biggest budget in the league, and it really is our expectation and demand to be title winners at the end of the season.
“But what comes with that are the things that are going against us, not just for the last three weeks, but for a while now. There’s no sense of entitlement. We’re playing without a sense of urgency.
“It feels like we’re just stumbling a bit. We could have been two or three-nil up in this match, and we would have had a very different press conference, but we didn’t do that. Then of course, we could have defended the goals, but we didn’t do that either.”
In all competitions, Bayern have now suffered as many defeats in seven games under Tuchel (three), as they did in 37 contests under his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann this season.
Asked if he felt responsible for Bayern’s downturn despite his limited time with the players, Tuchel said: “I always find myself responsible, regardless of whether I’ve been here for one day, one month or one year.
“We’ve lost a lot of points in the second half of the season and right now, we’re not in a position to hit our top performance levels. I feel responsible, but ultimately, everyone is responsible.”
