Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
Bayern's downward quest is not endless, and on Saturday afternoon they took a different form to unlock another 'first in years' – losing to the Bundesliga newcomers for the first time in more than 23 years (the last time was a 1-0 defeat at Cottbus in October 2000) and the first time in more than three years that they were defeated after leading 2-0 (the last time was a 3-2 defeat at 'nemesis' Borussia Mönchengladbach in January 2021). With two goals in hand at half-time, Thomas Tuchel's side conceded twice in a minute to start the second half before being beaten 3-2 away at Heidenheim. This is the first time since Bayern won the Bundesliga that they lost to a promoted horse with a 2-0 lead!
Heidenheim fans spelled out the TIFO before the game that they were going to beat Bayern Munich in all their might and that their team really did it.
Bayern fans have long been numb to the horrific record after horrific record set by Tuchel and this team, and even have no sense of being thrown away by Bayer Leverkusen to 16 points. What is really worrying is that after two consecutive defeats, Bayern has been tied by Stuttgart, and is only seven points ahead of fifth-place Dortmund, and may even lose qualification for next season's Champions League if they are not careful. What scares fans is how Bayern, with such a team that doesn't listen to Tuchel at all and whose squad has suddenly become crippled, can avoid the next humiliating record when they visit Arsenal next Tuesday night.
Unstoppable or unintentional?
After losing 2-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund a week ago, Kimmich criticised his team-mates for their lack of attitude: "If we play with that attitude, it will be difficult against any opponent and next week against Heidenheim, especially in the Champions League. As a result, he lost in Heidenheim.
Despite losing a game with a 2-0 lead in the first half, the first time in Tuchel's tenure, Bayern lost the game in a familiar way, with a familiar taste, similar to the way they were beaten by Mainz 05 a year ago, or won and lost at Bochum a little over a month ago, and conceded goals in the same way as they were beaten by Saarbrücken five months ago, or against another promoted Madarmstadt side in the previous round. Anyway, you can't understand why such a defensive line, which is worth more than 200 million euros, will always be easily torn open by the players of the relegation team with rough skills when the number is superior, and whether it is Neuer or Ulreich, they will be reduced to "shooting on target". Is it a poor quality of the players, or a lack of attitude or confidence?
Substitute Cesa leveled the score at 2-1 in the 50th minute.
Each of the three goals conceded in this game was incredible. The first goal was goalkeeper Kevin Muller's big kick, and the 1.94-meter-tall Kleintinster scrambled to beat Kim Min-jae for the first spot, and his header found the unguarded substitute striker Pillinger, who then wonderfully volleyed the outside of his right foot into the middle to help another substitute Kevin Cesa cut into the center of the box against offside and push it into the net to open the Bundesliga career goal account.
Kim Min-jae's defeat in the battle for the first drop point was not fatal enough, the fatal thing was that there was no one to fight for the second penalty at all. Pierringer was clearly in front of Alphonso Davies at the time, and Davis not only watched the whole time, but even stood there and watched the ball slowly fall in front of Pillinger. Between the two Heidenheim players, Yu Pamecano was hesitant between pounce on Pillinger or defend against Sesa forward, which eventually led to a catastrophe.
Kleindingst equalized 2-2 in the 51st minute.
In the first round at home to Heidenheim, Bayern were held to a 2-0 draw in just three minutes, only to win 4-2. This time it was even more outrageous, losing two in a row in a minute. Kleindingst received the throw-in on the left side of the backfield and used his physical advantage to carry the symbolic Davies, then turned and dribbled away from Gnabry before quickly moving to the left. The 2-2 draw against Stuttgart in the last round should have been immediately on the minds of Bayern Munich when they won the ball on the left side of midfield, and the coaching staff will certainly highlight the connection between Best and Kleindingst in their pre-match preparations. As a result, in the process of Bester dribbling the ball, Kimmich retreated all the way back because he had to worry about the charity that was quickly inserted from behind, and Muller did not come over in time to make up for the defense, so that Best could calmly send a diagonal long pass with his golden left foot.
What's worse is that Kim Minjae didn't seem to know that Kleindingst was quickly cutting forward from behind him, and Davis, who clearly saw the enemy, just stretched out his hand and shouted to Kim, but he continued to run back at a constant speed, and just watched the unguarded Kleintinster shoot a right-footed shovel into the net from 11 meters out, and Heidenheim replicated the equalizing goal against Stuttgart a week ago. After conceding the ball, Kim Min-jae immediately turned around and complained to Davis, which probably meant that he was going to watch the incoming ball, and you Davis should help me fill the position behind me.
Kimmich couldn't catch up with Kleintinst, who struck the winning blow against Ulreich.
Heidenheim's winning goal was the most spectacular, from Omar Traore cutting off Gnabry's diagonal pass before Tel on the right side of the penalty area to Kleintinst's opening in just 12 seconds. Traore first linked up the wall with Dinkic down the right flank, then accelerated away from Tel through the halfway line, and then scrambled to intercept Goretzka in the backfill, and Pillinger received the ball in an offside position on the right rib and provided the assist. Kim made a serious mistake in the defensive position, and when Traore had little room to break through, he still chose to stand on the opposition's forward path, but gave up the only passing lane. The two full-backs were also completely out of position, with Davies rushing forward to meet Dinkic without any interference, and Kimmich chasing back all the way but completely unable to catch up with the tall, legged and faster Kleintinster.
The lightly injured are expected to return in London
Whether it's the three goals conceded in this game, or the majority of goals conceded against underdogs in the past year, a big factor is that the defenders are not concentrating or making the wrong choices when they are in the nick of time. Davies, Kim Min-jae and Yupa have repeatedly made the same mistakes, but apart from the bad attitude of the game or some of their own bad habits, is there also a big problem with the quality of training? If you are used to this intensity and rhythm in training, why do you keep teaching in the game? Over the past few months, Tuchel, the players and the senior management have been talking in public about how well the team has been training. But in the game, whether it is full of mistakes and omissions on the defensive end, or a solo fight on the offensive end, all of them always refute this argument of high quality training.
Yu Parmecano and Kim Min-jae, the original main center-back combination, are now embarrassed.
Although Yu Pa and Kim Min-jae rotated De Ligt and Dier in this game, the three people in this four-man defense line are the absolute main force in the first half, and the reason for the lack of tacit understanding is simply untenable. The only thing that is certain is that whether it is Yu Pa, who made consecutive mistakes and received red cards in mid-February, or Kim Min-jae, who lost his main position after returning from the Asian Cup, the current confidence is seriously lacking. Barring no surprises, De Ligt and Dier will re-start the first leg against Arsenal. As for the left-back, Davies clearly doesn't deserve Tuchel's trust either, but Guerreiro wasn't very convincing before this brief injury stoppage, not to mention the fact that the Portugal international has always been strong in attack and weak in defence.
There are also a few small question marks in other locations. Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Tuchel stressed in announcing the absence of Manuel Neuer (adductor fibre tear), Leroy Sane (pubic problem), Pavlovic (infection), Coman (muscle) and Mazraoui that it was not for the Champions League to be reserved, but that the players were really having physical problems and that their availability for next Tuesday night was in doubt. The good news is that Manuel Neuer, Leroy Sane, Coman and Mazraoui were all on the training ground the day after the game.
Based on past experience, there is a good chance that Neuer will return in time. Neuer missed the final five league games at the end of the 2018/19 season with a torn muscle fibre, only to return to the top in the German Cup final against RB Leipzig. If Sane does not have the starting conditions, then it will be more reassuring to continue to use Gnabry, after all, the "King of London" contributed 1 assist and 1 goal in Heidenheim, and has scored 3 goals in the last 4 league games, and the state and confidence are obviously much better than Sane or the return of Coman from injury in the last round. Pavlovich, who has been ill for three weeks, looks like he won't be able to start in London anyway, or even at all, and the two-man midfield combination of Goretzka and Reimer should be used.
Gnabry, who contributed 1 pass and 1 shot, may be the only winner of the game for Bayern.
That's pretty much all Tuchel can play, and you don't expect him to play tricks at all – and don't make a sudden change of formation like he did at Bayer Leverkusen, the biggest variable being how mentally the team will be on the pitch on Tuesday night. Obviously, the losses to Borussia Dortmund and Heidenheim are not Bayern's true level, but the true level of this Bayern team is not clear to either Tuchel or the team themselves, and Arsenal is even more confused.
Was the Bayern side who beat Lazio 3-0 at home 'real'? If so, then Bayern weren't bad, but they weren't at a high level – and if Immobile had Moe's header on target in the minute before Kane opened the scoring, the result would have been hard to say. Once it encounters a headwind ball, no one can say how this "adaptive cruise" Bayern will respond. What's more, Arsenal is currently at the top of the Premier League, and it is not at all comparable to Lazio, who is hovering in the middle of Serie A.
The hierarchy continues to protect Tuchel
Although many big names such as Matthaus were clamoring for an immediate parting with Tuchel from the defeat to Borussia Dortmund until the defeat at Heidenheim, as the team had simply stopped listening to him, Bayern's hierarchy remained the same. When Heidenheim was pressed by reporters if he had considered sacking Tuchel immediately, Sporting General Manager Ebel replied unequivocally: "No, I didn't think about it that way. It's not always a coach's problem. 'Will Tuchel be on the bench next Tuesday night against Arsenal?' sporting director Freund replied: 'Yes, 100 per cent, everyone has to look in the mirror. ”
Thomas Tuchel has been spotted for protesting violently to the referee and will be automatically suspended for the next round of league games.
Much like it has been after every defeat this season, Eber and Freund have gone out of their way to excuse Tuchel and even back him up. Ebel pointed out that Tuchel's passionate and generous speech in midweek was the result of the team still playing like that: "It's not what Thomas deserves. Freund said: "It is unacceptable for everyone to introspect themselves." Compared to Tuchel's problems, Ebel has made it clearer that he wants to 'break the team' in the summer: 'I think there are a lot of things that need to change. ”
For Muller, who made his 700th official appearance for Bayern, this is undoubtedly a "milestone". After the defeat to Borussia Dortmund, he said: "Everyone wants to get back to good in the next game and we will do the same. This time, however, he made a similar statement, not pointing the finger at his team-mates, but hoping that Arsenal would switch back to 'battle mode' and assure the team that they would "do their best again".
As the boss of the team, Muller has scolded and coaxed the team in the past few months, and the situation is still half dead, and he really can't do anything more. Interestingly, a few days ago, there was a call for Muller to be the interim coach and lead the team to finish the season. And Mateus, who recommended himself as the coach of the national team three years ago, did not dare to recommend himself as the interim coach of Bayern this time. Asked if there was a suitable candidate for the transition if Tuchel were to be ousted immediately, he reluctantly said: "I have no idea at all. The coaches currently under consideration (note: Nagelsmann, De Zerbi, Rangnick, etc.) are all planning for the future. ”
Tuchel, as always, was unable to comprehend his team's behaviour on the pitch.
It is precisely because there is no suitable transition plan that Tuchel can continue to retain the silver lining of his hope of saving face through the Champions League. At the end of the 1995/96 season, Bayern sacked then-manager Rehhagel after reaching the final of the UEFA Cup, depriving 'Otto the Great' of the opportunity to leave with the trophy held high, a move that Hoeness later admitted was "foolish". In light of this, as long as he is not out of the Champions League, it is believed that Hoeness will not agree to get rid of Tuchel immediately. In other words, Bayern fans, who have long been unable to stand one of the worst coaches in team history, will have to endure it for at least another week. The only 'good news' was that Tuchel had been suspended for one game for his fourth Bundesliga yellow card of the season after complaining about a referee's throw-in error at Heidenheim. At least when you play Cologne at home in the next round, you don't have to see him on the Bayern bench.
#海登海姆3: 2 Bayern#