Tuchel discloses why ‘terrible’ Bayern were poor in damaging Freiburg draw

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel was disappointed with his side’s first-half performance in the team’s 2-2 Bundesliga draw at Freiburg on Friday night. Bayern went into the game at the Europa-Park Stadion keen to close the gap on Bayer Leverkusen to five points but conceded an 87th-minute Lucas Holer goal to get one point that only reduced the deficit to seven.

Xabi Alonso’s men could increase their lead on Bayern to double digits by the end of the gameweek when they travel to FC Cologne on Sunday.

Speaking after the game, Tuchel revealed that his team were off the pace in the opening half, showing little with and without the ball and allowing counter-attacks against Christian Streich’s men.

“Terrible half an hour from us,” Tuchel told ESPN. “10-15 minutes in the first half (were) not more than ok. Second half (was a) good half, with big chances, good spirit, much better discipline with much better quality in our match overall. We could have won, but we did not defend the throw-in (for Freiburg’s equaliser) how it’s needed to escape with a win.

“Overall we can say it was not enough in the first half to fully deserve the victory. We invited them for counterattacks, we had no structure at all. It was not good at all.”

Having already confirmed his exit at the end of the season, Tuchel’s short-term remit is to close the gap on Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga as the Bavarians seek a 12th consecutive league title. In Europe, Bayern host Lazio in next week Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 second-leg match at the Allianz Arena, keen to turn around the 1-0 deficit from the reverse fixture at the Olimpico.

Afterwards, Tuchel's men, who could be 10 points adrift, face Mainz and Darmstadt in the Bundesliga on March 9 and 16 before this month's international break.