After his injury, Thiago probably no longer has a place in the centre of FC Bayern. How does Flick solve the problem? Thiago’s future is also still unclear.
When it comes to FC Bayern, the talk at the moment is mainly of Leon Goretzka, his trained muscle mass, his clearing qualities and his scoring ability.
The German international has made himself indispensable to coach Hansi Flick with his impressive performances in the second half of the season. The same applies to the resurgent Thomas Müller, who even set the Bundesliga Assists record at the weekend. And Joshua Kimmich (dream goal in the summit against BVB) is set in defensive midfield anyway.
But there’s still one person who was condemned to watch last time: Thiago. The Spaniard had missed three games because of a pulled groin. Now he is fit again and has to ask himself where his place is now.
The centre of FC Bayern works (too) well
In the 4:2 victory at Bayer Leverkusen this place was on the bench. It was not until the 74th minute, when the top game was almost decided at 4-1, that Thiago came on the bench for Serge Gnabry. Before his injury he had been the undisputed regular under Flick.
“Thiago is always an option. His quality is good for any team. But Leon and Josh (Joshua Kimmich) have also done very well together recently. Let’s wait and see,” Flick had said before the game in Leverkusen.
After all, he had seen no reason to change the Bavarian centre, which had been functioning excellently in recent weeks. Will that be the downfall of Thiago?
Müller could theoretically switch to the right wing, but Kingsley Coman and Gnabry were the two men who came out on the outside against Leverkusen.
If Flick were to rebuild his headquarters for the momentous Cup semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, it would come as a surprise. But when can Thiago count on a starting eleven appearance again?