Tuchel urges Bayern to ‘stick with the positive’
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel has urged his side to “stick with the positive things” ahead of its Champions League clash against Copenhagen.
His comments came following Bayern’s second-half turnaround against RB Leipzig at the weekend, where they were suddenly 2-0 down from two goals within six minutes of each other in the first half.
England captain Harry Kane then sparked the comeback before Leroy Sane snatched a point to draw 2-2 and Tuchel is determined to take the positives forward into future fixtures.
“We analyse it all and are drawing our conclusions, which we’ll discuss with the teams,” he told a pre-match press conference.
“We’re trying to develop a better plan and fill it with more life. We’re still finding a way to get into games, which is the positive. We’ll stick with the positive things.”
Bayern’s next game takes place in the Champions League as they travel to Denmark to face Copenhagen, who earned a point against Galatasaray in their opening fixture.
Speaking ahead of the game, Joshua Kimmich echoed his manager’s sentiments, adding that Bayern need to retain concentration for the task ahead on Tuesday night.
“We weren’t in the game against Leipzig in the first half, invited the opponent with too many simple mistakes,” he told a press conference.
“That can’t happen tomorrow. We have to go about our business with concentration over 90 minutes, then I believe we’ll win the game.”
Munich got off to a winning start in the competition last month after an eventful clash against Manchester United, which ended 4-3 at the Allianz Arena.
Sane, Serge Gnabry, Kane and Mathys Tel were all on target for Bayern, who shot to the top of Group A after the first round of fixtures.
The Danish side took a 2-0 lead through Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves against Galatasaray, but after Elias Jelert was sent off in the 73rd minute the Turkish Super Lig champions staged a comeback with two quick goals in the final 10 minutes.
Another tough test lies ahead for Bayern away to Copenhagen, who managed to draw all of their home games in the Champions League last season and Tuchel knows not to underestimate any side in the competition.
He said: “I’ve never seen an easy group stage, every game has its own character, Galatasaray scored two late goals. The focus is 100 per cent on Copenhagen.
“I’ve watched their games, we’ll prepare seriously. We first wanted to conclude the Leipzig game.
“We’ll limit it to two meetings, keep the info to a minimum. I have the greatest respect for every opponent in the Champions League, it’s the toughest club competition in the world.
“Copenhagen didn’t lose a home game in the Champions League last season against Manchester City, Dortmund and Sevilla. The drive to be the top team is big, but the facts are in our favour.
“(Jacob Neestrup) is a very young and successful coach, Copenhagen are the club winning all the titles in Denmark.
“He’s got a clear style. We’re expecting Copenhagen in a 4-3-3 formation, they’re very compact, very dangerous on the counter, and we’re expecting a mix of long balls and passing play.”
