Bayern Munich suffered a shock 3-2 defeat at Bochum in the Bundesliga on the weekend. The defending German champions took the lead in the 14th minute and it was a great start.
However, Bochum equalised in the 38th minute and the team in the bottom half of the table took the lead at the end of the first half.
Bayern Munich had a player sent off in the 76th minute and Bochum added a third goal 2 minutes later. Bayern Munich did pull one goal back but it was too little, too late.
🚨🔴 Bayern plan to keep going with Thomas Tuchel after internal discussion tonight.Tuchel: “I feel the support, I know my relationship with CEO Dreesen and how we work together”.“He knows how much this situation annoys me and how much we are investing”. pic.twitter.com/er7XFQObuX— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2024
🚨🔴 Bayern plan to keep going with Thomas Tuchel after internal discussion tonight.Tuchel: “I feel the support, I know my relationship with CEO Dreesen and how we work together”.“He knows how much this situation annoys me and how much we are investing”. pic.twitter.com/er7XFQObuX
The defeat at Bochum came on the back of a 1-0 loss at Lazio in the Champions League round of 16. With the home leg still to come in that tie, Bayern Munich remain the favourites to progress to the quarter-finals but they have left themselves with work to do in the home match.
Trends show Bayern Munich have lost each of their last 3 fixtures in all competitions. The sequence started with a disappointing 3-0 defeat at title challengers Bayer Leverkusen. That means Bayern Munich are now 8 points behind the leaders and with Bayer Leverkusen being so tough to beat this season, it is going to be difficult to catch Xabi Alonso’s team.
Statistics show the last time Bayern Munich failed to win a major trophy in a season was 2011/12. They finished second in the Bundesliga and lost the Champions League final in their own stadium to Chelsea.
Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga title in each of the last 11 seasons and it would be a huge shock if they lost the title this season to Bayer Leverkusen.
Having already been eliminated from the DFB Pokal by Saarbrücken in the second round, which was a big upset, Bayern Munich know they must overturn the 1-0 deficit from the first leg in their Champions League tie against Lazio.
Thomas Tuchel is coming under pressure and there are already rumours he could be replaced by Jose Mourinho until the end of the season. As we near the end of February, it is unlikely the Bayern board are going to sack Tuchel and they will wait until the summer to decide if any change is needed.
Harry Kane will be hoping he does not suffer another trophyless season. One of the main draws of Bayern Munich for the England captain was the almost guarantee of a major trophy but that seems in doubt this season.
The striker is the top goal scorer in the Bundesliga and is likely to finish the season that way but it is nothing he has not done before in the Premier League.
What Kane really wants is major trophies but Bayern Munich are going to need a big turnaround in form and a near perfect run until the end of the season if they are to catch Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the table.