Is Alphonso Davies going backwards at Bayern Munich?

The wing-back has either plateaued or begun to regress in defence at the Allianz Arena over the course of the last two seasons.

As is often the case with football managers, the devil is in the detail. Somewhere, buried beneath the passive aggressive answers or well-worn cliches, eagle-eyed fans can often spot what a coach really has to say in the way they answer a question. And then there’s Thomas Tuchel. Who, perhaps, put his foot in it when he was asked about Alphonso Davies’ start to the season in a press conference earlier this month. 

"He is an absolute regular and knows our appreciation," said Tuchel when asked about the player’s future, following continued speculation over a move to Real Madrid when his contract expires in 2025. "He is in the right place, plays regularly at the very highest level and still has potential to develop further." The Bayern head coach then proceeded to list a number of aspects of Davies’ game that could be better. “There is a lot of room for improvement,” concluded the Bayern tactician. “Even if he plays at a very high level,"

On the one hand, this is Tuchel being Tuchel. While Pep Guardiola may exaggerate his appreciation for his players and Jürgen Klopp may go to war with post-match interviewers when criticism comes his team’s way, Tuchel has a habit of being rather matter-of-fact about things. Often to his detriment among fans and his own players. But in this instance the 50-year-old head coach was probably spot on: Davies may be playing at a very high level but there’s no denying that he could and should be doing far better than we’ve seen of him this season. So what’s gone wrong for the Canadian international?