Lazio, which lost to Milan on Friday and had three players sent off, is likewise in the middle of the Serie A standings and faces pressure, but they have a 1-0 advantage after the first leg and will host Milan in the last 16 match at the Allianz Arena.
Tuchel was hired two-thirds of the way through the previous season, following Bayern’s unexpected dismissal of Julian Nagelsmann. Despite Leverkusen’s comfortable lead in the Bundesliga, Tuchel has battled to keep Bayern on course for the championship.
Tuchel’s only trophy from last season was the Bundesliga, which was somewhat given to him on goal differential by Borussia Dortmund’s collapse on the final day of play. He had already seen two early exits from the German Cup and elimination by eventual champions Manchester City in the European Cup previous season.
Out of 84 games in command of Bayern, Nagelsmann only lost 10.
Despite having a very same team, including South Korea defender Kim Min-jae and England captain Harry Kane, Tuchel has already dropped 11 of his 45 games.
“Excitement in the air”
With ten league games remaining in the Bundesliga title hunt, Bayern is now 10 points behind following their 2-2 draw with Freiburg on Friday and Leverkusen’s 2-0 victory at Cologne on Sunday.
The Bayern administration assured Tuchel that the coach will stay on for the entire season, even if his team had only won one of their last five games.
But according to German media, Tuchel’s employment is only being maintained because there isn’t a suitable stand-in.
Along with Tuchel, all of Bayern’s assistant coaches joined the team. The team is hesitant to name a permanent coach since they plan to pursue Xabi Alonso of Leverkusen in the summer.
Following the game on Friday, Tuchel criticized his squad’s “body language” and asserted that “discipline” rather than “desire” was what his team lacked. He added, “We played completely without structure.”
We performed actions for which we have never been trained and have never even discussed. We played as though we were behind by a goal in the 85th minute right from the start.”
Bayern has a history of being inconsistent, and they mostly rely on Kane’s 27 league goals to get them through.
Two-time Champions League champion and Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller stated on Sunday that “the excitement is palpable for everyone, whether fans or players.” A hush falls across the place.”
Conversely, Tuchel didn’t appear to know what to anticipate from Lazio’s visit.
“The ups and downs have been with us for a long time,” he stated.
“Internal pressure”
Following the announcement of the split in late February, Tuchel stated that he and the team could proceed with “clarity”.
Harry Kane is still scoring goals despite Bayern Munich’s difficulties. In 24 league games this season, the captain of England has scored 27 goals.
Harry Kane is still scoring goals despite Bayern Munich’s difficulties. This season, the captain of England has scored 27 goals in 24 league games.
The coach added that he might make more “ruthless” decisions, the finest example of which would be to switch Joshua Kimmich to his less preferred right-back position.
Tuchel also has a depth issue. Dayot Upamecano will not play in the match after turning away the game-winning penalty in the first leg against Lazio.
In addition, it appears that Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, Sacha Boey, and Noussair Mazraoui will miss out, and Leroy Sane is questionable due to an injury that he sustained against Freiburg.
While acknowledging that the circumstances were “strange,” Tuchel denied feeling under pressure to deliver a message to the team in his last few months.
“The pressure comes from within, within myself,” he stated.
“Being at the top of your game means you have the opportunity of putting the most pressure on yourself, which is something I like to live with.
“That’s what I expect from myself — to handle that pressure.”
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