Bayern focus on the Bundesliga title. Thomas Tuchel, the new manager of Bayern Munich, has played four games since replacing Julian Nagelsmann, and despite rumors of a treble, just one championship is still realistically within his grasp.
Bayern will have a mountain to climb in the second leg on Wednesday in Munich after being eliminated from the German Cup by Freiburg and getting destroyed 3-0 by Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup.
A season without a trophy would be disastrous and, for some Bayern brass, could even be fatal. The Bundesliga represents their last realistic chance to win the championship.
Tuchel’s concerns have only grown as a result of Sadio Mane’s one-match suspension on Thursday following a physical brawl that left teammate Leroy Sane with a bleeding lip.
Bayern focus on Bundesliga title
Bayern hosts Hoffenheim on Saturday with seven games left and two points ahead of Borussia Dortmund.
Despite being near the bottom of the table, Hoffenheim is improving under American manager Pellegrino “Rino” Matarazzo.
Hoffenheim are currently on a three-match winning streak, their longest since August after the American took over in February when the club was in danger of experiencing its first-ever relegation.
In his last two games at the Allianz Arena in Bayern, Rino’s previous club Stuttgart, he managed to escape with two 2-2 draws.
Christoph Baumgartner, a midfielder for Hoffenheim, stated on Thursday that he “expects a team that wants to make up for the 3-0 defeat.”
“They will crush you in Munich if you’re not awake and don’t fight back.”
Bayern defender Matthijs de Ligt stated after the loss to City that “we need to stick together” and maintain our attention on the “important game against Hoffenheim on Saturday.”
The title contenders for Bayern, Dortmund, face Rino’s old team, Stuttgart, who is also on a late-season roll and is managed by former Hoffenheim manager Sebastian Hoeness.
Stuttgart has won two games under Hoeness, defeating Nuremberg in the quarterfinal of the German Cup and Schalke on Sunday in a game that was important to their survival.
“Stuttgart is not a typical team fighting against relegation,” Dortmund manager Edin Terzic stated on Thursday.
“They have a lot of possession and have had the unfortunate loss of a few games by small margins. We won’t have an easy game.”
