In a pivotal Champions League match, Bayern Munich’s coach Thomas Tuchel had no choice but to congratulate his counterpart, Maurizio Sarri, after witnessing his team endure another brutal defeat. As Tuchel retreated to the dressing room, the dejected Munich players offered a brief acknowledgment to their fans before leaving the pitch. With this shocking loss, the German record-holding champions now face the real possibility of an early elimination from the Champions League. Bayern’s performance against Lazio Rome, the underdogs playing on their home ground, Stadio Olimpico, on Wednesday night was less than satisfactory, resulting in a 0-1 defeat. This puts their chances of advancing to the quarter-finals in serious jeopardy. The prospect of their first football season without a title since 2011/12 is now a looming reality.
Bayern Munich’s fate was sealed when defender Dayot Upamecano fouled Lazio’s forward Gustav Isaksen in the penalty area. This offence led to Upamecano’s dismissal with a red card and a penalty for Lazio. The former Dortmund player, Ciro Immobile, showed his mettle by converting the penalty into a goal in the 69th minute, leaving Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer helpless. Despite being a man down, Bayern was unable to change the course of the game. They will need to significantly up their game in the second leg on March 5th.
In an attempt to overturn the 0:3 loss in the top league game against Bayer Leverkusen, Tuchel reverted to his tried and tested playing system. He also brought back key players such as Thomas Müller and Joshua Kimmich. However, despite dominating ball possession, they were unable to convert this advantage into goals. The attacking trio of Harry Kane, Leroy Sané, and Jamal Musiala seemed out of form and lacked spirit.
“I hope that we play without a backpack,” Tuchel said on DAZN just before the match started. But Munich’s performance was far from fluid, riddled with mistakes and appeared to be laborious.
Bayern’s defence was hardly tested in the first half
Müller and Kimmich tried to take control of the game from the outset. Early attempts to score by Kimmich (2nd minute), and Müller’s set up for Kane (7th minute) showed clear signs of their effort. However, it was apparent that the team’s performance was weighed down by their recent troubles in the Bundesliga. Lazio, on the other hand, was largely defensive and showed little inclination to take control of the game, thereby giving Bayern the upper hand.
Sané, who was far from his form in the first half of the season, narrowly missed the goal from a free kick (32′). Musiala’s shot after a good individual performance (40′), although not a highlight, was one of Munich’s few chances to take the lead in the first half. Tuchel keenly observed the game, sometimes standing, sometimes sitting, critically analysing the performance.
The Bayern defence led by Upamecano and Minjae Kim hardly faced any challenges in the first half. Lazio, under Sarri’s coaching, focused more on pressing rather than offensive actions. The only exceptions were Luis Alberto’s shot, which narrowly missed Neuer’s goal (22′), and Isaksen’s shot, which was even further off target (37′).
Tuchel had anticipated that “Lazio will make the most of being an outsider” – and he was proven right. The team, currently placed seventh in Serie A, proved to be a tough opponent, backed by their vociferous home crowd. They started posing a threat to Bayern at the start of the second half. A mistake by Upamecano allowed Isaksen to take a shot at the goal, but Neuer denied him at the last moment (48′). This gave Lazio the confidence to exploit Bayern’s vulnerability.
Tuchel reacted to this by making a tactical change, shifting Musiala to the centre behind Kane, moving Sané to the left, and Müller to the right. But this move failed to invigorate Bayern’s game. Upamecano’s clear foul on Isaksen in the penalty area led to Immobile scoring the only goal of the match. Now playing with a man down, Bayern found it increasingly difficult to turn the tide. In the final phase, Lazio even seemed to be pushing for a second goal.
