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A half of mixed emotions for Thiago.
The match started off well for the Spaniard, as he put Bayern ahead 1:0 in Istanbul after 18 minutes with a beautiful one time finish off of a pin-point Thomas Muller cross, bringing his goal tally to 2 in the Champions League this season.
Bayern take the lead at Besiktas! Müller picks out Thiago perfectly to go up 6-0 on aggregate. pic.twitter.com/sXJSvMvcmX
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 14, 2018
The goal will surely have ended any and all hope Besiktas may have had of overcoming their 5-0 deficit coming into the match.
Unfortunately, things didn’t continue that way. Ten minutes from half-time, Thiago picked up a knock and had to be substituted off with what appears to be a left foot injury. The 26-year-old was replaced by James Rodriguez.
After opening the scoring Thiago Alcantara has taken a knock to his left foot. James Rodriguez comes on 10 minutes before half time. Bayern lead 1-0 - 6-0 on agg vs Besiktas.
— Mark Lovell (@LovellLowdown) March 14, 2018
TV footage did show that he was able to walk down the tunnel under his own power with no noticeable limp. Hopefully his substitution is just a precaution, as Thiago is vital to Bayern’s success in both the Champions League and DFB Pokal.
Update: Thiago in tears on the bench
Thiago burst into tears after forlornly taking a seat on the bench by Juan Bernat, who tried to comfort his compatriot. Jupp Heynckes told ZDF (via AZ) that Thiago’s substitution “was not a precautionary measure”:
He indicated that he had pain under the sole of his foot. Tomorrow he’ll have an MRI, then we can say more.
We’ll post an update when we know more.