Bayern draw at Lazio Rome: They are putting themselves in a final

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Wipe your mouth, carry on: Bayern's Thomas Müller

Photo:

Sven Hoppe/dpa

Who laughs last:

In Germany, Ciro Immobile was almost considered a joke: nine years ago, Lazio's captain had a weak season for Borussia Dortmund, and since then the Italian has been considered a harmless wooden foot by many Bundesliga viewers. Now the Romans' top scorer managed to take revenge on the German audience in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16: Immobile drove a Lazio counterattack with a fine foot, penetrated the penalty area and left Munich's Dayot Upamecano, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Kim Min- yes stand. Somewhat by chance, the ball found its way to Gustav Isaksen, whose ankle Upamecano got on - red for the Bayern defender, penalty for Lazio (67th minute). And Immobile didn't miss it (69').

The result:

FC Bayern lost 0-1 (0-0) after a sobering performance at Lazio Rome. The offensive in particular didn't succeed; out of 17 shots, not a single one found its way onto the Romans' goal. The match report can be found here.

Backpackers:

"It feels like we're playing with a backpack," Thomas Tuchel said of his team before the guest appearance in Rome. "Or an invisible weight." The pressure is great at FC Bayern, at Lazio the first stage of an obstacle course through the knockout phase of the premier class awaited. On paper, the Romans didn't look like a fearsome opponent; the previous season's runners-up are currently only seventh in Serie A. However, Tuchel didn't want to let the actual opponent, the Bavarian seething after the 3-0 defeat in the top league game against Bayer Leverkusen, get to him: "The louder the noises get, the more important it is to stay calm."

No experiments:

From a purely sporting point of view, Tuchel made sure right from the start that he would not be in the crosshairs of the critics this time: In contrast to Leverkusen's highly experimental three-man chain disaster, the less well-rehearsed Eric Dier, Aleksandar Pavlović and Sacha Boey took a seat on the bench . Thomas Müller, Kimmich and Raphaël Guerreiro filled the starting eleven into an experienced, conventional team - this time with four defenders in the last line.

The game was already in hand:

And Bayern got off to a good start. With control of the game, and with Harry Kane, who narrowly missed an improvised cross from Müller after Kimmich shifted the game under pressure (6th). The attack in the opening phase suited Bayern well, but Lazio stabilized from minute to minute and didn't make it easy for the guests to pick up the pace. When that did happen, thanks to a quick, direct combination through the center, Jamal Musiala missed the best chance of the game from around eight meters (40th). After the final whistle, Müller was supposed to say that he liked the first 45 minutes “very much for a Champions League away game at Lazio Rome” and that he had “seen a reaction.”

And suddenly “slapstick”:

Müller had the term “slapstick” left over for the second half. This started early on when Upamecano's loss of the ball allowed Isaksen a one-on-one against Manuel Neuer (47'). Things only got better to a limited extent, Immobile and Isaksen countered to make it 1-0 and gain the advantage, and after that the main thing for the guest from Munich was to keep the starting position bearable for the second leg. Neuer later assured about the weak performance "that no one is doing this specially," Müller called the defeat "completely okay because we have a second leg." You can also call it a final: If Bayern don't progress in Munich (March 5th, 9 p.m.), they will face their first titleless season in twelve years.

Conclusion:

Tuchel, usually a coaching character who is not afraid of confrontation with TV and tabloid media, appeared almost tame on the DAZN microphone after the game. »I think we lost the game. “I don’t know if Lazio won – we lost,” the Bayern coach started the conversation, frustrated by the mistakes in the second half. It was Tuchel's tenth defeat since taking office - in just 43 games. For comparison: predecessor Julian Nagelsmann needed almost twice as many games (84th).

Now we need good friends:

Bayern now have to regain their lack of self-confidence on the pitch. The next chance for this is the league game on Sunday (5.30 p.m.) at VfL Bochum. The record champions not only have a fan friendship with the Ruhrpottklub, they also recorded an impressive 7-0 win in the first leg. Without wanting to declare VfL as a building opponent in advance: Hardly any game this season will offer more feel-good potential for Tuchel's team.