Tuchel slammed for taking off Kane in Bayern’s defeat to Real Madrid

Thomas Tuchel

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Thomas Tuchel's decision to substitute Harry Kane during Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final match against Real Madrid resulted in a major failure. He was criticized for his "arrogance" as taking out his best goal scorer led to a loss for the team at the Bernabeu.

Tuchel mentioned that Kane was experiencing issues with his back and therefore, he had to be substituted as there was no other option.

However, the alterations to the team's defense made by the manager garnered disapproval from TNT Sport analysts Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes. They noticed that center-back Kim Min-jae, who had made a mistake in the initial round against Munich, was having difficulty after being substituted in during the later part of the match in Madrid.

In the 85th minute, Kane was substituted since Bayern was leading Madrid by a single goal in hopes of making it to the Wembley final. However, Joselu, a forward for Madrid, was brought in from the bench and managed to tie the game in just four minutes. Tuchel was also responsible for substituting out top offensive players, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane.

In his first year at the German team, Kane has scored a total of 44 goals out of 45 goals, making him the top scorer for Bayern this season. Among these goals, Kane managed to score eight goals during the Champions League. However, he was later substituted by Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has been able to score three goals in all competitions during this season.

The opposing team's goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, made a mistake that allowed Joselu to score and tie up the match. This put Tuchel's team in a difficult position as they would have to play more time without their primary attackers. However, Joselu managed to score another goal in the 92nd minute, securing Madrid's spot in the final match.

Former Bayern and England midfielder Hargreaves expressed his amazement over a major substitution made during a football game. He stated that such a substitution was one of the largest he had ever witnessed in his career. As a player who has scored more than 40 goals, he believed that taking him off the field was a mistake.

"That was a huge decision. Although I have great admiration for Thomas Tuchel, I can't understand why he made that call. Bayern Munich had the lead, but they couldn't keep hold of it. Removing Harry Kane from the match was not the best decision."

Former Manchester United player Scholes expressed that it's almost like an overly confident attitude to think that one can remove their main adversary from the game and still be able to win against Real Madrid.

There was still 10 minutes remaining in the game, so even if Real Madrid managed to score a goal, there was still a lot of time left to play. I don't know why they made the substitution, but it was evident that their strategy was to score on the counter-attack and Harry Kane was the ideal player for that game plan.

Bayern suffered a loss that crushed their chances of earning a trophy this season. Despite their performance in the Champions League, Tuchel was planning to depart from the club.

Bayern has failed to secure a trophy for the first time in nine years, since the 2011-12 season. The Bundesliga champions have been overtaken by Bayer Leverkusen who went unbeaten throughout the season, with the guidance of Xavi Alonso.

During an interview with TNT Sports, Tuchel expressed that he was left with no alternative but to substitute his forwards and acknowledged that Bayern seemed to be on the verge of victory prior to Madrid's unexpected resurgence.

One can never be completely certain when facing Real Madrid in their home of Madrid. We should have been more precise and poised when attacking in the other team's half. At the beginning of the game, we had four players in the forward position, but unfortunately all four had to exit the field due to injury or muscle fatigue.

Oh, I see. When it's the 88th minute and you're ahead, it's like the finish line is in sight. It wasn't our greatest game, but we didn't have to be flawless - we just had to be decent enough at that time.

At the time when one of our team members was experiencing cramps, we let in a goal that wouldn't normally happen with our goalkeeper. Ultimately, we have to come to terms with the outcome.

The coach of Bayern expressed his anger when Matthijs de Ligt's goal was not counted, due to an offside flag raised by the assistant referee during the last moments of the game. The official did not follow the standard procedure, as it was uncertain if there was an offside.

According to Tuchel, the linesman and referee made a catastrophic choice. He feels like they have been let down. Despite putting up an immense struggle and going all out on the field, they fell just short. As a result, Tuchel and his team extend congratulations to Real Madrid.

The linesman apologizes, but it's not enough. Raising the flag during a critical moment like this is unacceptable. The referee permitted us to obtain the second ball and take a shot, despite it being a very incorrect decision. It goes against the regulations and is a catastrophe. It's challenging to accept, but we must acknowledge it as it is.

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