Reprimand for Sané and Kane
Only Musiala’s magic satisfies Tuchel
January 13, 2024, 8:24 a.m
Thomas Tuchel is satisfied after his FC Bayern’s victory at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga. But only with Jamal Musiala, who shines with his double pack. The coach quarrels with his other players – and takes harsh measures.
Jamal Musiala’s home European Championship year got off to an excellent start. The 20-year-old “really had fun” in FC Bayern’s 3-0 win against TSG Hoffenheim at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga. With his brace (18th/70th) and numerous good offensive moves, the midfielder was the outstanding player in the sold-out Allianz Arena.
There was special praise from coach Thomas Tuchel: “Jamal was our absolute best player today. He can happily build on that.” The gifted technician scored the first two goals and also hit the post again. It was his fourth brace in his 101st Bundesliga game. “It was a great game. We are all hungry to score a lot of goals,” said Musiala happily. They were his fourth and fifth goals of the season. “Jamal is very focused. It is very important to him to have good statistics, goals and assists,” said Tuchel, who predicts a great career for Musiala: “The path is steep because Jamal has everything you need.”
Musiala also scored in the 2-1 win in the last league game of 2023 in Wolfsburg, alongside striker Harry Kane, who was successful again in the new year against Hoffenheim with his 22nd goal of the season to make it 3-0.
Musiala scored both goals in conjunction with assister Leroy Sané. “We like to play together,” Musiala said. National coach Julian Nagelsmann should also be happy about the harmony of the national players with a view to the home European Championships in the summer. However, Tuchel had something to complain about: “Leroy has to play more physically, he has so much potential, fast runs, sprints, he can’t do without that.” He emphasized that it was “not enough” for him if Sané didn’t show that. But if Sané uses his full abilities, “then he can be decisive in the game – in the Bundesliga and internationally.”
In addition to Sané, Harry Kane also received a reprimand: “Leroy didn’t have his best day today, wasn’t decisive in the game. Harry didn’t have his best day either, wasn’t decisive in the game either.” For both of them, however, it was complaining at a high level, because while Sané worked magic with Musiala and already managed his tenth assist of the season, Kane worked a lot backwards.
“No delicacy”
But Tuchel, who is known for his criticism, put his finger in the wound. He praised Musiala, but took a swipe at his teammate: “He was the only one who had the freedom and the desire and the joy to do something.” Tuchel was particularly concerned because the team “had such a good week of training,” “in terms of esprit and drive.” But after the 1-0 lead, Munich had a hard time. Thomas Müller also missed “a bit of the lightness”, but it wasn’t so easy for offensive players against a “standing block” from Hoffenheim. That’s why it looked “a little unattractive”.
Tuchel criticized: “We had a phase where we dominated, but then completely gave it away and wasted three big chances.” Ultimately, it was thanks to goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in his 500th competitive game for FC Bayern that the Munich team did not give up their lead. In the 63rd minute, he used a reflex to prevent Maximilian Beier from equalizing. Just a minute later, Neuer was the winner in a one-on-one against Andrej Kramaric. Bayern were lucky again a minute later when Beier hit the crossbar. “We don’t yet get the desire and the joy and the greed across into the games, not yet consistently,” said Tuchel. “It wasn’t a treat.”
On Sunday, Bayern will fly to Faro in Portugal for a four-day training camp. Tuchel states: “We have to stick with it, we can do better.”