Bayern Munich on Thursday were set to sack manager Julian Nagelsmann, according to German media reports, with the perennial Bundesliga winners struggling to assert themselves in the title race.
Former Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel is the favorite to replace Nagelsmann at Bayern, according to German daily Bild.
The shock sacking would come with the team second in the table, a point behind archrivals Borussia Dortmund and only four points ahead of surprise challengers Union Berlin.
Photo: AP
Bayern’s quest for an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title suffered a blow on Sunday as they fell to a 2-1 loss at Bayer 04 Leverkusen.
After the game, Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic expressed his displeasure at the side’s performance.
“We let ourselves be overrun by a team who played in midweek. That’s not what it means to be Bayern Munich,” he said.
Despite their uninspiring league form, Bayern remain in the hunt in the league, as well as the domestic and European cup competitions.
They brushed aside French giants Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League round-of-16, winning 3-0 across both legs.
The German champions are to face English Premier League champions Manchester City in the quarter-finals next month.
In the Champions League, they have strung together eight victories from as many matches played against opponents including Barcelona, Inter and PSG.
Bayern have conceded just twice in their European campaign, against Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic.
Nagelsmann’s potential replacement Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2020-2021, but has been without a club since leaving the English side in September last year.
Tuchel had already been in touch with Bayern, German sports magazine Kicker reported.
Nagelsmann, 35, would leave Bayern after less than two years in charge. The Bavarian side’s next fixture is a top-of-the-table clash with Dortmund in Munich next Saturday.
“That is now a must-win game for us, because it will be very difficult to win the title otherwise,” Nagelsmann said after the Leverkusen defeat.
Despite being in second place in the table, Bayern are enduring their worst league campaign in 11 years with only 52 points from 25 games.
They have been defeated three times — by Augsburg in mid-September last year, at Borussia Moenchengladbach in the middle of last month and then against Leverkusen. They have also drawn seven games.
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