Bayern still fighting but season ‘unsatisfactory’ - Tuchel

Bayern faces Cologne on Saturday and needs to win while also hoping Borussia Dortmund fails to beat Mainz 05.

Bayern have enjoyed little success under Tuchel so far, crashing out of the German Cup and the Champions League in the last eight and losing their Bundesliga lead on with a shock 3-1 home loss to RB Leipzig. | Photo Credit: AP/Matthias Schrader

Bayern Munich’s season has been disappointing but the players will give it their all in their final game even if league leader Borussia Dortmund is set to lift the Bundesliga title, coach Thomas Tuchel said on Friday.

The still-reigning champion faces Cologne on Saturday and needs to win while also hoping Borussia Dortmund fails to beat Mainz 05.

Bayern is two points behind Dortmund going into the last matchday but has a better goal difference.

“I have no message for Dortmund. We have our own work cut out. We have slipped up too many times,” Tuchel told a press conference.

“We will now try to finish the race and give it all but it is not a season anymore that is satisfactory. We don’t have to look over to the other game because for us it is clear that first we have to win our game.”

The Bavarians have won the last 10 league titles but could see their Bundesliga dominance come to an end, leaving them without any silverware following the surprise arrival of Tuchel in late March to replace Julian Nagelsmann.

Bayern have enjoyed little success under Tuchel so far, crashing out of the German Cup and the Champions League in the last eight and losing their Bundesliga lead on the penultimate matchday last week with a shock 3-1 home loss to RB Leipzig.

Tuchel, who led Chelsea to the 2021 Champions League title and also coached Paris St Germain, has been under mounting pressure with fans unhappy about Nagelsmann’s sudden departure when the team was still competing for three titles.

Some of Germany’s football pundits are suggesting Bayern are playing worse under Tuchel than under Nagelsmann.

“Anyone can have their opinion but it is difficult to argue against it,” Tuchel said when asked about it.

“We are not satisfied with the results. We are not satisfied with the way we play. We have to be more dominant, be more fluid, create more chances and make fewer mistakes,” he said.

“We are not able to do it at the moment so we have no argument to contribute to this discussion.”

The coach had some good news with fit-again forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting back in the squad and ready to boost their frontline.