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Bayern Munich: 'Harry Kane barely involved, everyone will get hammered' - Owen Hargreaves on latest debacle

Rob Hemingway

Updated 14/02/2024 at 22:57 GMT

It was a night of woe for Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League as they went down to 10 men, and then suffered a narrow defeat to Lazio. Dayot Upamecano saw red late on for a poor tackle, conceding a penalty in the process which Ciro Immobile converted. Afterwards, ex-Bayern midfielder Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports that "everybody looks down" as he analysed the loss.

Harry Kane of FC Bayern Munchen at the end of the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 round of 16 first leg match between SS Lazio and FC Bayern München at Stadio Olimpico on February 14, 2024 in Rome, Italy.

Image credit: Getty Images

TNT Sports pundit Owen Hargreaves said "everyone's going to get hammered" at Bayern Munich after their latest poor performance, this time in their UEFA Champions League last-16 first-leg defeat to Lazio.
Bayern struggled to create much throughout and were eventually punished late on when Dayot Upamecano was red-carded for a nasty tackle, conceding a penalty which Ciro Immobile dispatched to give the hosts a 1-0 lead going into the second leg.
The pressure will mount once more on Thomas Tuchel, the Bayern Munich manager, with this defeat following on from a devastating 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen, with Bayern losing ground in the Bundesliga title race.
Should Bayern crash out of the Champions League at the last 16 phase, pandemonium would ensue in the Bavarian outfit's hierarchy, Hargreaves believes.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: "You look at the stats - possession-wise, you expect them to dominate, but zero shots on target, that’s crazy.
"With the amount of players they have, Harry Kane was barely involved in the game. He wasn’t against Leverkusen, he wasn’t today.
"They need to find a way to speed the game up and get a bit quicker. Under Pep, they went through this phase where they played the most beautiful football. That today, they’re not even playing nice-looking football."
Bayern are often renowned for the ease in which they create goal-scoring opportunities, and the vast number of goals they do score, both domestically and on the continent. But Hargreaves believes that his former side are struggling to do that at present.
"They’re not even creating anything," Hargreaves said. "All those world-class players. They need to step it up and they need to enjoy it a bit more. Everybody looks down.
"It’s a privilege to play for Bayern; to coach that team. Enjoy a little bit more. When you smile more, it makes the game a little bit easier."
With the media scrutiny mounting on the manager and players alike, former Manchester United midfielder and Champions League winner Hargreaves doesn't foresee positive reviews for the visitors based on this performance.
He added: "Everyone’s going to get hammered. Everyone. Players, coaches, and rightly so. Bayern are the favourites; the squad that they have.
"Thomas Tuchel is a world-class coach, with one of the best squads. They’ve been dreadful of late, and rightly so they get criticised.
"When you play for the top teams, I know people don’t want to hear it, but when you play like that, you’re going to get criticised. I think frustration will be huge in and around Bayern right now."
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