It is the fall of the great commander. Thomas Tuchel, once the coach of Europe, is now suspected and criticized for his tactical choices.

Bayern Munich lost 0-3 in the 21st round of the German Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season against Bayer Leverkusen at Bayer Leverkusen in Leverkusen, Germany, on the 11th.

Initially, Munich intended to win the Leverkusen away and rise to the top of the league. Prior to the match, Leverkusen and Munich had a two-point gap, and if Munich won the match, the ranking could be reversed. The match against Leverkusen was a chance to regain the lead from Munich's perspective, which had maintained a chasing position even after the middle of the league.

Munich's plans, however, went up in smoke. After 18 minutes of the first half, they conceded the opening goal to Josip Stanisic, who had left for Leverkusen from Munich, and Alex Grimaldo allowed another goal in the second half to widen the gap. Munich had not scored a goal before Leverkusen sealed it with Jeremy Frimpong's goal in stoppage time of the second half.

Not only the result but also his performance and performance were at their lowest. Tuchel presented an unusual tactic in which he deployed three center backs at the back. Dayo Upamecano, Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae started the game. However, when he allowed the second goal, he changed his formation by replacing Upamecano with Joshua Kimmich, as if acknowledging that his decision was wrong.

However, that did not mean that the outcome was changed. Munich collapsed by allowing one more goal after Tuchel's change of strategy. Eventually, Munich failed to regain its No. 1 ranking and suffered a humiliating defeat, losing face.

Criticism has continued against Tuchel since the defeat. This time, it was pointed out that Tuchel's choice to turn away from Matthijs Dericht and start Dyer was consequently the same as the choice to strangle himself.

"Choosing Dyer to replace Duricht in Munich is a precarious path for Tuchel to take," said The Athletic. Tuchel's choice was difficult to understand. "He chose Upamecano, who had just returned from injury, Kim Min-jae, who returned from the Asian Cup, and Dyer, who was sitting on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur instead of Duricht, who had been playing consistently."

"Dericht is an important player in Munich, and it seemed like Tuchel's individual choice to remove him from the starting list. This is another example of Tuchel's disregard for the team's hierarchy and the team's leadership position in Munich," he said, criticizing Tuchel's choice.

Duricht, who has been at the back of the team since joining Munich, has lost ground this season. It was because the timing of Italy's Serie A's best defender Kim Min-jae's joining and Duricht's injury coincided exquisitely, and Tuchel prefers the combination of Kim Min-jae and Upamecano to Duricht.

Nevertheless, it was difficult to say that Duricht was behind Dyer. Dyer is also a player who stays on the bench at Tottenham and is not objectively highly regarded. Even if Duricht's performance fell a lot, it could not be said that he was behind Dyer.

"Upamecano and Kim Min-jae are players who can protect Munich, which is vulnerable to counterattacks. Munich has stabilized defensively this season. However, it is hard to explain why Dier, who lacks talent, was chosen as the player who coordinates Munich's build-up against Leverkusen," said The Athletic.

The media pointed out Dier's performance, saying, "Dier recorded 129 touches, the most against Leverkusen, and none of them were meaningful plays on the field."

He added, "Dier's selection raised Duricht's discontent. If Tuchel once again excludes Duricht from the starting list for Lazio, which has become more important since their defeat to Leverkusen, Duricht will know where he is."  스포츠토토