Bayern Munich have qualified for the Champions League Quarter-finals after their 3-0 win over Lazio in the second leg of the tie at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night.
The German club had managed to keep their hopes of winning silverware this season running despite their poor run of form in the Bundesliga, going 10 points behind Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.
The German giants were able to see it through to the next stage of the competition, brushing aside Maurizio Sari’s Biancocelesti with a 3-1 aggregate score, thanks to goals from Thomas Müller and Harry Kane. With the latter scoring a brace, the England International has been quite impressive since his £82m ($100m) move to the Bavarians and has now scored a total of 33 goals in 33 games.
Despite this, many questions have popped up concerning the uncertainty of the manager’s future at the club. Thomas Tuchel, who assumed office in March 2023 after his dismissal from Chelsea the previous year, will be leaving the Germans at the end of the 2023/24 season.
This means the German will leave 12 months earlier than initially agreed, and it is safe to say that Tuchel has struggled at the club as he has not been able to get them into tip-top form which may well cost them the league title they have won 11 years in a row.
Bayern Munich, being the most successful club in German Football have won a record 33 Bundesliga titles but this season has proven to be different with Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen posing a serious threat to their dominance of the Bundesliga.
All is not well at the Allianz
Tuchel’s win percentage is the lowest at 64% since Louis Van Gaal (2009-11), by contrast, Julian Nagelsmann’s stood at 71 % while his losing rate is the worst for a Bayern Coach in 32 years since Sören Lerby lost 41 % (7/17) of games in charge.
Under Tuchel, Bayern have also lost on average one of every four competitive games (11 of 44), and recently slipped to defeat in three successive matches in all competitions for the first time in almost nine years. Their goalscoring form seems not to be an issue as they have brought up a century of goals in Tuchel’s first 44 games in charge, a healthy average of 2.3 per game.
However, the problem has been at the other end where they have conceded 54, averaging 1.2 goals against per 90 minutes.
Although it has been agreed that the German coach and club are to go their separate ways at the season’s end, more losses and disappointing results could make it happen sooner rather than later with a decision from the club’s board decision imminent in such case. This weekend, Bayern host Mainz and a win is necessary to keep their slim hopes of a title charge that hinges on the unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen dropping points.
With this being matchday 25 out of 34 games, it is a crucial part of the season. Whether we see a continuation of Bayern’s utter dominance of the German top flight or we witness Alonso’s Schwarzroten write their name in the history books with a first-ever Bundesliga, it will surely have a fascinating end to it.
FC Hollywood just may have a few more spectacular highlights to go this season.
