FC Bayern’s Champions League victory against Lazio Rome was not without pain for Thomas Tuchel. The Munich coach, who is leaving at the end of the season, limped across the pitch after the 3-0 win against the Italians on Tuesday; he had treated himself with ice spray during the game. “The motivational speech before the game cost me my big toe. I kicked it somewhere and injured myself,” Tuchel explained on Prime Video. He didn’t have the courage to take off the shoe. Then he would hardly have been able to get in.
According to CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, who spoke to Tuchel, the toe may be broken. The team had hardly realized that their coach had been injured. Thomas Müller joked: “There’s always a little waste. Professional sport is always narrow. We just don’t do it with fruit tea.”
But the speech seems to have been worth it: FC Bayern Munich is in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The German soccer record champions beat Lazio Rome 3-0 (2-0) on Tuesday evening and managed to advance to the next round in the round of 16 despite losing 1-0 in the first leg. The goals for Munich in the Allianz Arena at home were scored by Harry Kane with a brace (39th/66th minute) and Thomas Müller (45th minute). With their comeback in Europe in front of 75,000 spectators, the Munich team preserved what was probably their last chance for the title this season. Coach Thomas Tuchel also remains hopeful of a glorious farewell in the summer.
