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7 months ago
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Arriving from RB Leipzig almost at the same time as Julian Nagelsmann in the summer of 2021, Dayot Upamecano had a mixed first season of ups and downs and the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt in the summer of 2022 seemed to push him to the bench . Error, with a champion’s mentality, great solidity and high foot quality for a defender, the former Valenciennes and Salzburg man managed to turn things around in the pre-season and delivered a 2022/2023 exercise convincing. Part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad this season, the Frenchman remained at a good pace despite his team’s inconsistencies. However, the last three matches have shattered the view of his season.
Rome’s nightmare
Against Bayer Leverkusen during the 3-0 defeat on Saturday February 10, he had already experienced a difficult match. At the moment, it was still difficult to blame him. Lined up while returning from injury, he made a quality save just before Josip Stanisic’s first goal or just before the break, both times ahead of Amine Adli. Very involved in his team’s play, he was over-responsible in terms of recovery. Committing an inconsequential mistake at the start of the game, he was not faultless on the second goal signed Alejandro Grimaldo. Exited at the hour mark, because he was in no condition to play 90 minutes, he however had a very difficult rest of the week.
Starting again in the Champions League against Lazio, he completely missed a defensive intervention at the end of the match against Gustav Isaksen. Thus offering a penalty to the Biancocelesti while receiving a red card, he saw Ciro Immobile from the locker room offer a 1-0 victory to the Roman team. After the meeting, his coach Thomas Tuchel simply praised him: “We are frustrated and angry at the defeat. I think we lost the match, I’m not sure Lazio won it. We did everything we could to be late, making mistakes and losing confidence. There was no need for Upamecano to act this way. It wasn’t wild or intentional, but he should have just blocked the shot.” The French defender was also the victim of racist insults after this game, which was denounced by Bayern Munich.
A new disaster in Bochum
After being mercilessly warm with his player, the German coach then wanted to weigh up his position by comforting his player before playing Bochum this Sunday. “We must continue to trust him without reservation. It’s been a bitter week for him, of course. We really wanted to get him back into shape. He already did it at Dortmund and played exceptionally. Then, he had two difficult matches at Leverkusen and against Lazio. But it’s useless to attack individuals. (…) He is incredibly ambitious in training and in matches. And then, of course, he wants to manage everything on the pitch. In addition to defending, he wants to participate in the construction of the game and create scoring chances, and of course, lead emotionally. It’s sometimes a little too much, but it always comes from good motivation and that’s why we will continue to support him and put our trust in him.”, explained the German technician at a press conference. Enough to give him back his confidence, especially since he was starting on the bench in order to get his mind straight.
Coming on at the half-hour mark to compensate for the injury of Noussair Mazraoui when his team was leading 1-0, he saw his team lose two goals shortly before the break and worsened the situation in the second half. Collecting a second yellow card and making a foul in his area on Keven Schlotterbeck, he left his teammates, leaving them at 10 and trailing 3-1. A new nightmare for the Frenchman which perfectly symbolizes this dark week for Bayern Munich, which ended with a 3-2 defeat. After the meeting, Thomas Tuchel tried to defend him in order to keep him mobilized: “I didn’t talk to him. It is extremely bitter. Upa has already played twice after his injury, today a maximum of 30 minutes was actually planned. Then, he is the very last option at the right back position. He made life difficult with a yellow card, but then he was good in the game. It wasn’t a punch, it was a jumping move, he sprawled. He (the referee) quickly decided on a penalty, what about our penalty (Tuchel referring to a penalty not awarded to Bayern, editor’s note)? Two reds, three difficult matches and three defeats, Dayot Upamecano is sinking at the same time as the Bavarian club.
