That was a mediocre start to the new year. Still without the defensive additions urgently desired by coach Thomas Tuchel, FC Bayern had to settle for a 1-1 (0-0) draw against Swiss first division club FC Basel after an average performance in the only test match before the Bundesliga season continued.
Bayern’s hunt for leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen begins next Friday in the home game against TSG Hoffenheim. Substitute young player Noel Aseko Nkili (18) averted a defeat for Bayern, who were dominant but goalless before the break, with a deflected shot in the 70th minute on Saturday. Juan Gauto had previously taken the lead for the hosts in the St. Jakob-Park, which was sold out with 36,000 spectators.
Lovro Zvonarek, who was also only 18, missed Munich’s winning goal in the final phase when he shot against the post (84th). “We would have liked to win, that has to be our aim too. But it was a test match,” said Tuchel. “We had an intensive week of training behind us, but of course we wanted to win the game,” said captain Manuel Neuer, who was replaced in goal by Sven Ulreich at half-time.
Manuel Neuer is substituted in Basel – Konrad Laimer is missing
The personnel shortage in the defensive area with the additional loss of Konrad Laimer (knee problems) led to Tuchel positioning national player Joshua Kimmich on the right side of defense at the start of the year. Like most recently, youngsters Aleksandar Pavlović and Raphael Guerreiro occupied the double six in the defensive midfield. Leon Goretzka initially sat on the bench. After the break, the national player was used as a central defender.
Ulreich even had to prevent the score from making it 0-2 after a positional error by Goretzka (65′). Bayern dominated in the first 45 minutes. However, Thomas Müller (16th) and Harry Kane (18th) failed to achieve a successful result. “We weren’t greedy enough in the box to capitalize on the opportunities, otherwise we should have clearly won the first half,” commented Tuchel.