Bayern Munich failed to close the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen as they crumbled to a 3-2 defeat to struggling Bochum on Sunday.
Sky Germany understands Thomas Tuchel will remain in his Bayern role as it stands and will not be dismissed, while the former Chelsea and PSG boss is not considering resigning.
Jamal Musiala gave the visitors the lead with his sixth goal of the season (14) but after a lengthy fan protest delayed proceedings, Bochum levelled when Takuma Asano found the bottom corner from Anthony Losilla’s pass (38).
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Keven Schlotterbeck rose unmarked from Kevin Stoger’s corner to complete the turnaround before the interval (44) – and Stoger himself extended Bochum’s lead from the penalty spot after Dayot Upamecano was sent off for catching Schlotterbeck with an elbow inside the box (85).
Harry Kane set up a grandstand finish with a close-range finish (87) from Manchester United target Mathys Tel’s cross – his 25th Bundesliga goal of the season.
The England striker then sent a header straight at the Bochum goalkeeper during eight minutes of stoppage time as Bayern slumped to a third straight defeat.
It means Leverkusen’s advantage at the summit remains at eight points after they battled past Heidenheim 2-1 on Saturday to equal a German record by going 32 matches unbeaten in all competitions. The result also moves Bochum onto 25 points and up four places to 11th – to ease relegation fears.
How Tuchel hit rock Bochum
Tuchel knows he is having to weather a storm at present. His team had lost last week’s big league match against Leverkusen and suffered a 1-0 defeat to Italy’s Lazio in their round-of-16 first leg.
“Of course,” club CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told reporters when asked whether Tuchel would be in charge for next Saturday’s game against RB Leipzig.
“I am not a fan of monstrous coach-backing statements,” he said. “They usually run out after a week. But this (the coach’s future) is not an issue we are dealing with at the moment. We have to focus on our next matches,” he said.
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In torrential conditions, the Bavarians had Upamecano sent off for the second consecutive match.
“Now (the title) does not look very realistic,” Tuchel said. “But last season we believed until the end and we were rewarded. So we will keep working at it.”
Referring to the pressure on him following his team’s third loss, he added: “That happens after every defeat.
“The ‘how’ we played is key. The ‘how’ was good today and that’s why today’s 90 minutes are very different from the second half at Lazio or the game at Leverkusen.”
Upamecano had started the game as a substitute, but was forced on as a replacement for Noussair Mazraoui.
By then, Bayern had earned a 13th-minute lead with Musiala drilling in from a tight angle but thereafter, Bochum wrestled control and deservedly extended their proud home record to 18 points from their last 25 at the Ruhrstadion.
Fans started throwing tennis balls on to the pitch in protest at a planned foreign investment in the Bundesliga. Such protests have increased on recent matchdays with almost every league game on Saturday and Sunday having been briefly interrupted.
The 15-minute stop in play did wonders for Bochum’s game. Kane missed a glorious chance to double Bayern’s lead when he blazed over when put clean through on goal – and the miss was duly punished.
The hosts struck twice before the break with Asano and Schlotterbeck to complete a stunning comeback.
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Stoger’s 78th-minute penalty put the game to bed after Upamecano was sent off for elbowing an opponent in the box, with a second booking.
Kane tapped in his 25th league goal in the 87th minute but it did little more than inject some late drama, with Bochum holding on to the three points.
“That interruption threw us off our rhythm. Today it was a win of mentality over quality,” Dreesen said.
For Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka the current run feels like a bad film.
“It feels like a horror movie that is not ending. Everything is going against us at the moment.”
“We can again sit here and say we started well. But now you feel stupid to limit yourself to half an hour. In the end we tried everything, so you can’t blame us.”
Earlier on Sunday, Michael Gregoritsch’s late equaliser saw Freiburg fight back to draw 3-3 against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Europa-Park Stadion.
Play was halted midway through the second half because of protests from fans – which saw remote-controlled planes flown around the stadium while sweets were thrown onto the pitch behind one of the goals.
When the action resumed, Ansgar Knauff’s second goal of the game had Frankfurt back in front at 3-2 with 20 minutes left, only for Gregoritsch to head in a last-minute equaliser.
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LaLiga leaders Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly city neighbours Rayo Vallecano.
Los Blancos, without Jude Bellingham through injury, had taken an early lead through Joselu and looked all set to go eight points clear of Girona, who play at Athletic Bilbao on Monday night.
However, a 27th-minute penalty from Raul de Tomas proved enough for Rayo to earn a derby point in their first match under new boss Inigo Perez.
At the other end of the table, the bottom two sides Granada and Almeria cancelled each other out in a 1-1 draw at Los Carmenes.
Marc Pubill had given visitors Almeria a ninth-minute lead, but Myrto Uzuni equalised with 15 minutes left.
In Ligue 1, Mohamed Bamba scored a first-half brace as relegation-battlers Lorient won 3-1 at Strasbourg to move out of the drop zone.
Monaco saw their top-four ambitions dented with a 2-1 home defeat by Toulouse, with Logan Costa’s late goal securing the points for the visitors, who edged further clear of trouble.
A brace from Martin Terrier saw in-form Rennes beat 10-man Clermont 3-1 and continue their climb up the table.
Africa Cup of Nations winner Oumar Diakite marked his return to club action with a goal as Reims drew 1-1 at home against Lens while Montpellier beat Metz 3-0 at Stade de la Mosson.
What’s next?
Bochum travel to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday February 24 in the Bundesliga; kick-off 2.30pm.
On the same day, Bayern host RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.
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