Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel has urged his frustrated team to recover from their recent loss to Borussia Dortmund in the “Klassiker” match.
Bayern will have to manage without five players, including Leroy Sané and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, for Saturday’s game against Heidenheim and potentially for Tuesday’s Champions League quarterfinal against Arsenal.
Tuchel, who will depart Bayern at the season’s end, acknowledged last week’s Bundesliga title concession to Bayer Leverkusen after Bayern’s defeat to Dortmund left them 13 points behind the leader. He emphasized on Friday that the club’s main focus is now reaching the Champions League final.
“We are all disappointed with how things turned out last weekend,” Tuchel remarked. “We need to respond. … We must reestablish the fundamentals in our game, and fast.”
Bayern faces Heidenheim on Saturday, a match Tuchel described as a “classic David vs. Goliath” encounter. Heidenheim, currently 11th in their debut Bundesliga season, seems likely to avoid relegation but has yet to win in six league games.
Tuchel stated that Neuer, Noussair Mazraoui, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Sané, and Kingsley Coman will all be absent from the Heidenheim match. He clarified that none of them are being rested for the Arsenal game and all remain uncertain for the Champions League due to injury.
Sané, who played against Dortmund last week, is now dealing with a groin problem, while Coman and Mazraoui, who both came off the bench, have their injury issues. Neuer has been sidelined since sustaining a thigh injury while with the German national team two weeks ago. Pavlovic is sidelined due to an infection, Tuchel added.
