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Bayern Munich lose to Mainz in third defeat in seven games under Thomas Tuchel

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel reacts during his side's 3-1 loss to Mainz in April 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Bayern Munich suffered their third defeat in seven games under Thomas Tuchel as the Bavarians were beaten 3-1 by Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Tuchel was appointed by Bayern in March following the surprise sacking of Julian Nagelsmann but the former Chelsea manager has already lost as many matches as his predecessor this season.

Nagelsmann has won all eight of his matches in the Champions League before his dismissal and Tuchel was unable to continue that run as his side were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City at the Etihad and could only draw the second leg of the teams' quarter-final tie 1-1 at the Allianz Arena.

Saturday's loss was Tuchel's first as Bayern boss in the competition and it came after Mainz shocked the visitors with three second-half goals after Sadio Mane had given them the lead early on.

Tuchel's other defeat was a 2-1 loss at home to Freiburg in the DFL Pokal quarter-finals, ending their chances of winning that competition.

"We have no energy, I don’t know why," Tuchel said on Saturday. "It's so difficult. The team looks like they have already played 70 games this season. We're not awake, we're exhausted."

Ben Hayward
Freelance Writer

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.