Bundesliga Tuchel is not looking at Leverkusen’s possible championship game
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel wants to concentrate on the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League against Arsenal. photo
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
Bayern’s future can already be experienced against Cologne: Thomas Tuchel is not allowed to sit on the bench. The focus is on Arsenal. There is important information about Sané and the goalkeeper future of Neuer and Nübel.
Thomas Tuchel doesn’t want to see the images of Leverkusen celebrating after the programmed replacement of FC Bayern as the long-term football champions at home on the couch.
“No, I’m not watching it,” answered the Munich coach when asked whether he would watch league dominant Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s presumably final step against Werder Bremen to win their first Bundesliga title live on Sunday (5:30 p.m./DAZN). I’ll watch TV. But the 50-year-old immediately added the (real?) reason: “I’ll look at Arsenal.”
The Gunners are playing against Aston Villa in the English Premier League at the same time as Leverkusen’s game. And this is of course a must for Tuchel three days before the quarter-final second leg in the Champions League against Arsenal. After the 2-2 draw in the first leg in London, everything for Tuchel and the current champions revolves around the knockout game next Wednesday, which is extremely important for the entire club. Cologne? Leverkusen? Everything else is pretty much secondary in Munich right now.
In the interim game against 1. FC Köln, who are in serious danger of relegation, the main thing for Tuchel is to give rhythm to the substitute players and test who could replace Alphonso Davies at the back left, who was suspended in the second leg against Arsenal. According to Tuchel, both candidates, Raphael Guerreiro and Noussair Mazraoui, will be in the starting eleven against Cologne, as will probably the offensive players Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman.
Sané gets a break
“We change players more to get players into rhythm,” announced Tuchel. In addition to Serge Gnabry, who has been injured again for a long time, fellow attacker Leroy Sané will also be sidelined against Cologne. The pubic bone hurts again, Tuchel spoke of a reaction after Sané’s strong Arsenal game. The aim now is for the 28-year-old to play in the second leg.
The national player “will not be able to cure the pubic bone problem during ongoing operations,” explained Tuchel. That was also bad Sané news for national coach Julian Nagelsmann. “It will stay that way in the current season and at the European Championships,” Tuchel predicted. Maybe he will also rest Jamal Musiala.
Tuchel suspended for game against Cologne
By the way, in the Allianz Arena on Saturday you will be able to experience a little of the future without Tuchel. The coach who leaves at the end of the season is suspended after receiving four yellow cards and is not allowed to coach his team on the sidelines. “I think I’ll watch it in the box,” said the 50-year-old. His assistants Zsolt Löw and Anthony Barry will represent him below. When it comes to his future in Bavaria, Tuchel remarked that there was “no trend” yet.
Unlike at FC Bayern in the goalkeeper position. The Munich bosses continue to see Alexander Nübel as a solution for the future after the time of captain Manuel Neuer. The German record champions have extended the contract with Nübel, which runs until 2025, by four years until June 30, 2029. The 27-year-old will initially be loaned out to VfB Stuttgart – and surprisingly for another two years, as Bayern announced on Friday.
That leaves the door open for the 38-year-old newcomer. His contract ends after the coming season. But Neuer might be willing to hang on for another year. In 2026 there will be the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. “Basically, you can imagine anything with Manuel Neuer if he stays healthy,” said Tuchel, “but others will decide that.” Sports director Max Eberl appropriately described Neuer, who has been Bayern’s number one since 2011, as “a legend” in a video about the extension with Nübel. He counts Nübel as “one of the best German goalkeepers” who has “developed excellently”.
Number two behind Neuer, Nübel obviously doesn’t want to do that again like he did in his first Bayern season in 2020/21. Nübel said he was “very happy” about the decision to extend his contract with Bayern and to continue “personally taking the next steps” in Stuttgart. By the way, Tuchel sees “only winners in the constellation”.
dpa
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