Thomas Tuchel is slammed by Owen Hargreaves for substituting Harry Kane when Bayern led Real Madrid… as Paul Scholes calls the decision ‘strange’

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel was criticized by Owen Hargreaves for replacing Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala at a key moment in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid.

With the teams tied at 2-2 from the first leg, Bayern had put themselves ahead in the tie through Alphonso Davies’ goal in the 68th minute.

However, Tuchel bizarrely opted to take off Kane and Musiala with five minutes of normal time remaining, with Thomas Muller and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting replacing them.

The decision backfired: Real Madrid equalized shortly afterwards through their own substitute in Joselu, thanks to a Manuel Neuer howler.

In stoppage time, Joselu found the net again and Real Madrid reached the final.

Hargreaves described the decision to take out Kane as ‘one of the biggest submarines I’ve ever seen’.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Hargreaves said: ‘I’ll tell you what was unexpected: Harry Kane goes off the pitch. That’s one of the biggest subs I’ve ever seen in a football match of that size.

‘To take out a guy who has scored 44 goals, who is the most durable player pretty much everywhere, and you get another striker in Choupo-Moting. Maybe he wanted height for the corners, I don’t know.

‘You can’t take it off. There are five minutes left in the match, there are ten minutes of extra time, 15 minutes. I immediately said to Scholesy: they are going to score.’

Hargreaves stated that Bayern had the match in hand, but ‘let it go’.

He said, “That’s one of the biggest calls. I love Thomas Tuchel. I don’t know why they called. Kim arrived ten minutes before and they were quite comfortable. They went from a back four to a back three. Bayern had it in their hands and they let it go. Neuer’s mistake is obvious, but everyone is talking about the subs, you can’t drop Harry Kane.’

Ex-Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes described Tuchel’s substitutions as ‘strange’ and added that Bayern were ‘comfortable up until that point’.

Scholes said: “It ended up being a game of substitutions. Good one for Real Madrid. Joselu with the two goals, brilliant. His team wins the game. Neuer makes a big mistake that he will be disappointed about.

‘I thought Tuchel’s substitutions were strange. Kane was strange. Even if they score one goal, there are still extra-times and penalties, you know how strong he is.

“Kim was the stranger one. I thought they looked pretty comfortable in the game up until that point. They go to three at the back. Kim getting away last week was a disaster for him and again he looked a bit in all directions.’

German football expert Rafa Honigstein reported that Tuchel told DAZN after the match that the striker had suffered an injury, saying: “His back was gone, he couldn’t continue.”

The German manager’s hands were also tied by the fact that Serge Gnabry went down injured earlier, while Musiala ended up on the deck and appeared to have taken a blow just before his departure.

Former England cricketer Stuart Broad was also among those who criticized Tuchel, writing on X: ‘Why would you take away Harry Kane?’.

Another user was highly critical of Tuchel, writing: ‘Eliminating Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane while leading 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu is just asking for trouble.’

One user joked that Tuchel’s bizarre substitutions could win him the Manchester United job.

They wrote: ‘Thomas Tuchel does his best impression for Manchester United 23/24 by conceding two in quick succession. This man passed the audition.”

Another user contacted Tuchel’s game management.

They wrote: ‘Tuchel’s game management ruined the whole match, Bayern defended well? Why change the formation’.

Furthermore, one user stated that the replacements do not bode well for Tuchel’s future job prospects.

They wrote: ‘That replacement of Kane should rule Tuchel out of the Hull City job, let alone the one at United.’