Bayern Munich’s Thomas question: Tuchel dishes on Müller’s exclusion from the starting XI

Thomas Müller may be starting from the bench these days at Bayern Munich, but he is never far from the center of conversation. Just like last spring, manager Thomas Tuchel has dealt with continued questions from the media over his lineup choices whenever they do not include the other Thomas.

What does Raumdeuter got to do to get into the XI? Tuchel answered this directly after Bayern’s home Bundesliga debut Sunday, a 3-1 win over Augsburg in an early-season Bavarian derby.

“He doesn’t have to do anything, he just has to keep training,” Tuchel said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Serge [Gnabry] was one of our most dangerous players in pre-season. He missed the Bremen game because he had a back problem, otherwise he would’ve started in Bremen as well. So for me it was a logical decision to go with Serge today.”

Jamal Musiala’s injury would seem to have opened the door for Müller’s return to the No. 10 position behind new striker acquisition Harry Kane, but it was Gnabry who earned that nod instead. And perhaps most interesting is Tuchel’s suggestion that one of Musiala, Kingsley Coman, and Leroy Sané would have been relegated to bench duty in last week’s opener had Gnabry been fully fit.

As always, Bayern enjoys a wealth of options in attack. It will be Tuchel’s task to keep discontentment from the players at bay — as well as queries from the media.

Interested in a more in-depth review of the game? How did each player fare, and what is going on with Benjamin Pavard? We talk about all that and more in our newest podcast episode! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

As always, we appreciate all the support!