Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel said Friday that goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, forwards Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman, midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic and full-back Noussair Mazraoui were doubtful for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg. Arsenal.
“The problem is that none of these five players have been rested,” Tuchel told reporters.
“They are not in the squad (for Saturday’s league match at Heidenheim) because they cannot play and that is why they are big question marks for Tuesday,” explained the former coach PSG and Chelsea.
“We still have one goal, that of getting to Wembley,” said Tuchel in reference to the venue of the Champions League final this season, while Bayern, who remain on eleven league titles, have given up in the Bundesliga, dominated by Bayer Leverkusen.
With Bayern having already been knocked out of the German Cup by third division club Saarburk, the Champions League is arguably their last chance to win a trophy.
“We are in the quarter-finals, so there are not many steps left to go. Nothing is more important than this objective,” summarized the 50-year-old technician, who will leave his post at the end of the season.
Tuchel assured that his players would transform the frustration of the season into motivation: “we are all extremely upset and we have rage in our guts to put things back in order”.
Bayern also announced on Friday the departure of technical director Marco Neppe, in post since December 2021, “by mutual consent”.
A former footballer who played mainly in the German lower leagues, Neppe previously headed Bayern’s recruitment unit, a position in which he spotted several talents, notably Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies.
Neppe thanked Bayern for the “chance and opportunity” offered over the past ten years, saying “the treble in 2020 was the highlight” of his time with the Bavarian club.
