Football: Tuchel's Bayern Munich 'come back down to earth'

Thomas Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as Bayern Munich's head coach during the recent international break, was bitterly disappointed by Tuesday night's 2-1 last-minute defeat at the Allianz Arena. 

"I'm very disappointed. Quarterfinals, losing at home...of course I'm responsible, but we're in this together. We win together, we lose together," Tuchel said.

"We always had good moments, but we couldn't hold on to that."

The quarterfinal contest had appeared to be headed for extra time when a stoppage-time penalty for a handball by Jamal Musiala gave Freiburg the break they needed. Lucas Höler converted the spot kick to give Christian Streich's side a 2-1 victory, moving them on in the tournament as they seek to make a second consecutive appearance in the German Cup final.

Bayern, 20-time German Cup winners, have now failed to reach the semis for three straight years since their treble-winning season in 2019-20.

Captain Thomas Müller said Bayern Munich had "come back down to earth — or even a bit further down" after Tuchel's debut, a 4-2 win over Borussia Dortmund last Saturday, which returned the Bavarians to the top of the Bundesliga table. 

This coming Saturday, Bayern get their chance for revenge as they face fourth-placed Freiburg again, this time away from home, in the Bundesliga.

Setback for high-flying Union

Bayern currently sit two points ahead of Dortmund in the league with the surprise challengers, Union Berlin four points back.

Union, though, were handed a disappointment of their own earlier in the evening, as French international Randal Kolo Muani's brace led second-half strugglers Eintracht Frankfurt into the semifinals with a 2-0 home win over the visitors from Berlin.

pfd/ (dpa, AFP)