Thomas Tuchel hanging by a thread! Bayern Munich boss' time for excuses is over as Harry Kane & co. come up short on Champions League return

It's quite clear that Tuchel is hanging by a thread right now. He desperately needed a positive result after Saturday's dismal display at the BayArena, where Bayern had been swept aside by Xabi Alonso's thrilling team with worrying ease, but what he got was a perplexing performance.

As Thomas Muller was at pains to point out, the under-pressure visitors began brightly against Lazio, only to fade the longer the game went on. "We had a good approach," the veteran attacker told DAZN. "The coach had a good plan for the game. But it's on us, it's on us players to score goals when we create chances.

"The first half was good but, we have to be honest, we gave it away. We made horrible mistakes, horrible mistakes at this level."

Such errors have long been a part of Dayot Upamecano's game, so it came as no surprise to see the French defender needlessly give away the penalty that was converted by Ciro Immobile to decide the first leg in Lazio's favour.

Many Bayern fans have long since given up asking why Tuchel persists with Upamecano - who was sent-off for his reckless lunge on Gustav Isaksen in the area - while leaving Matthijs de Ligt sitting on the bench. The Bayern boss refused to be too harsh on Upamecano, admitting only that it was a "wild" challenge, as he was more concerned with Bayern's bizarre loss of belief after the interval.

"I think we lost the game; I'm not sure Lazio won it,” he told reporters in his post-match press conference. “I'm not sure why we lost our conviction in the second half but we did, and then we fell behind. I can't explain it because we told the team to maintain their intensity and be even braver going forward, but we seemed to lose face at the start of the half."

Tuchel was understandably keen to look on the bright side, pointing out that both Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala had squandered excellent chances in the opening 45 minutes and that Bayern should have ample opportunities to turn the tie around in the second leg.

However, he did acknowledge that the defeat "in conjunction with the last result, obviously doesn't look great" - which is obviously putting it mildly. Losing to undefeated Leverkusen was one thing, but being beaten by the seventh-placed side in Serie A was quite another.

Worse still, for all their effort and early promise, Bayern didn't actually manage a single shot on target in Rome, while Kane had just 31 touches of the ball (fewer than Manuel Neuer) and completed just 11 passes - a damning indictment of the Bavarians' inability to get their multi-talented forward into the game.

Kane was just as mystified by the second-half slump as Muller and Tuchel, and once again astounded by just how easily Bayern gave the ball away. He confessed to TNT Sports that "it's been a tough week" - and it will only get tougher if Bayern fail to win at Bochum on Sunday, because at this stage, Tuchel's position is bordering on untenable.

During the dark days of 'FC Hollywood', Bayern changed coaches with alarming regularity, but in recent years, they've prided themselves on adopting a more measured and patient approach to management.

However, less than a year ago, they sacked Julian Nagelsmann after a loss at Leverkusen even though Bayern were just a point behind Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund and had just knocked Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League last 16.

Of course, Tuchel led Bayern to another title triumph, but they were heavily indebted to Dortmund for a dramatic final-day collapse. It's also worth noting that he's already suffered as many defeats as Bayern boss as Nagelsmann (10) - but in 41 fewer games.

That's quite clearly not good enough - and nor is the fact that they could be out of the Champions League by the start of March.

Furthermore, with Kane on board, the objective this season was to make it past the quarter-finals for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2020 - but there's now a very real risk that they won't even get through the round of 16.

In theory, Bayern should still have sufficient firepower to overcome Lazio at the Allianz Arena, but it's telling that while the coach and players were lamenting a loss of confidence in Rome, their opponents are now brimming with belief that they can finish the job in three weeks' time.

In that context, it's not in the least bit surprising to read reports that it's no longer just journalists asking questions about Tuchel's suitability to the role of coaching Bayern - but also the club's directors.

According to the latest reports, there's no longer a guarantee that Tuchel will see out the season. Truth be told, though, it would be a shock if he's still in charge for the second leg against Lazio if Bayern don't win their next three Bundesliga games.

There is simply no more room for error and the time for excuses is over. Tuchel needs to find answers to the problems plaguing this Bayern team - and fast.