Tuchel tells De Ligt to 'fight for your spot' at Bayern after his disappointment

Thomas Tuchel brushed off Matthijs de Ligt's disappointment after the Dutch defender was left on the bench in Bayern Munich's defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.

Last weekend's showdown offered Bayern the opportunity to retake the initiative against Xabi Alonso's burgeoning title contenders.

However, despite having scored in their previous league fixture, De Ligt was dropped at the Bay Arena.

Tuchel instead opted for a back three of Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano and January loan signing Eric Dier.

The former Chelsea boss' bold decision would not prove fruitful however, with Leverkusen running out 3-0 winners to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

Speaking following the defeat, Tuchel insisted that no member of his team's place in the starting XI is guaranteed.

'We have 4 centre-backs and they compete for spots. We'll decide for those who are in best form.' He said.

'At Bayern, you simply fight for your spot. It's very normal situation. Unfortunately, what should be normal is not normal at Bayern'.

De Ligt was limited to a second-half cameo off the bench as the club endured yet more disappointment, with Upamecano sent off in a Champions League defeat to Lazio.

With Bayern desperately needing a win to rebuild their confidence, De Ligt started against relegation-threatened Bochum on Sunday.

Jamal Musiala fired Bayern in front early but Tuchel's side were unable to press their advantage as Bochum hit back to lead 3-1 with Upamecano again shown a red card.

Harry Kane's late goal gave the Bavarian club a glimmer of hope but they were unable to find an equaliser and fell to back-to-back league defeats for the first time since December 2019.