Thomas Tuchel’s first game as coach of Bayern Munich was a 4-2 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund, but he knows there is still work to be done.
Tuchel took over for Julian Nagelsmann during the international break, and his first game in charge was Saturday’s Klassiker against his old club Dortmund, who had won nine of their first ten league games in 2023 to take the Bundesliga lead.
Bayern, on the other hand, easily surpassed them to the top spot.
Within 23 minutes, the 10-time defending champions were up 3-0 thanks to a Gregor Kobel error and a Thomas Muller double.
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Kingsley Coman made it 4-0 shortly after halftime, and while consolation goals from Emre Can and Donyell Malen dulled the celebrations, Bayern now look the clear favourites to win an 11th straight Bundesliga title, with Opta giving them an 87.7 percent chance.
Tuchel insists that despite Bayern’s strong start to his tenure, there is still much work to be done if the club is to reach his ambitions, telling Sky Sports:
“I was very nervous today. It was a good first step but there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“It was a bit too wild, we wanted to have more dominance.
“We started very nervously. The whole game was actually too sloppy with too many ball losses.
“We have a lot to analyse. The team is extremely willing to learn.
“I understand that some things haven’t worked out yet.
“All in all, it was too many turnovers that made life difficult for us. We want to be in possession.
“It’s a bit like a band or an orchestra. We have to find our rhythm.”
Despite Bayern being in the Champions League quarter-finals, Nagelsmann was fired.
“Everyone was aware of what was at stake here. A change of coach always brings unrest, there was a lot to absorb,” Tuchel added.
“The will to implement everything was there 100 per cent. That’s the most important.
“When we played calmly and clearly, we had top-class chances. We have leaders, and that will give us peace and confidence.”