The complicated thing is: win or lose, Bayern Munich's board of directors doesn't know what to do with coach Thomas Tuchel!
Bayern Munich (left) lost direction before the second leg against Lazio
Immediately after losing 0-1 to Lazio in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 this season, Bayern Munich officially announced their decision to part ways with coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. That strange decision has put Bayern in an ironic situation right now. Does Mr. Tuchel really have to rack his brains to the point of losing sleep to find a reasonable strategy to turn the situation around against Lazio in the second leg? And once the head coach is no longer motivated to work (in theory), do the players really have to fight to the end?
This is the cold reality of professional football, not mere speculation. No one wants to lose. But a series of contracts are being considered by the players themselves, and the Bayern board. Who can the board sell this summer? Which players want to leave, or which players want to extend their contract even if it means taking a pay cut? It all comes down to the head coach position (or should the players discuss their future with Tuchel knowing for sure that he will be fired?). The latest controversy: commentators say that Bayern should sack Tuchel immediately (i.e. sooner than expected) if they are knocked out of the Champions League by Lazio. But sources close to the club say two things: Bayern will keep Tuchel if Bayern lose to Lazio, but will still sack him at the end of the season regardless of the final result in the Champions League.
If Bayern end up losing miserably on all fronts this season, it is difficult to say whether it is Tuchel’s failure or the failure of the club’s leadership. Since the Champions League was expanded (a country can send more than one representative to the tournament), Bayern has never finished a season without a national championship title, nor appeared in the quarter-finals of any other tournament. A historic disaster (in terms of achievements) is waiting to happen this season.
Losing by one goal in the first leg was not a big deal. People even considered Tuchel as a "Champions League specialist" coach. Even PSG, which has no "reputation" in this high-level, specialized arena, Tuchel was able to take them to the final, so he must be good. Coach Tuchel then led Chelsea to the Champions League title by defeating the two strongest teams in this tournament in recent years, Real Madrid and Man.City. The problem is the current situation, as mentioned: too uncertain for both Tuchel in particular and Bayern in general.
In each of the last seven times Bayern have lost the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie, they have failed to overturn the deficit in the return leg! This season, it was fortunate that UEFA no longer applies the "away goals" rule. Otherwise, a 0-1 first-leg loss would have been much more severe for Bayern (under the old rules, Bayern would have been eliminated if they had won 2-1 or 3-2). However, Bayern have always been strong at home. When Bayern lost to Leverkusen, Bochum and drew with Freiburg, leaving Leverkusen 10 points behind in the Bundesliga, those were away games. The same was true of the first-leg loss to Lazio. And at home at the Allianz Arena, Bayern have scored 40 goals in their last 12 games in all competitions.
Lazio are currently in the middle of the Serie A table. They have only made it past the Champions League group stage twice, and have always failed to make it past the first knockout round. But against a disoriented Bayern, Maurizio Sarri's side have a chance of making a difference!
Match schedule
3:00 a.m. March 6:
Bayern Munich - Lazio
Real Sociedad - PSG
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