An insipid 1-0 defeat to Dinamo Zagreb proved to be the final straw for Thomas Tuchel. But the ex-Chelsea boss is not the only manager who paid dearly for a chastening defeat in the Champions League.
Domenico Tedesco was already under severe pressure ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk’s trip to RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
And a 4-1 home defeat – the second game in a row in which the Bundesliga giants have been breached four times – left Tedesco’s position untenable in the eyes of the Red Bull bosses, the former Schalke boss set to be replaced by Marco Rose after a run of two wins in eight at the start of the new campaign.
Abdou Diallo, then, must be wondering if his start to life at the Red Bull Arena could have gone much worse. The Paris Saint-Germain loanee endured a torrid debut as the much-admired Mykhaylo Mudryk ran riot in Northern Germany.
Only a few hours later, the coach who was integral in bringing the one-time Dortmund ace back to the Bundesliga was packing up his stuff and saying his goodbyes. If Red Bull really does give you wings, then consider Tedesco’s clipped.
“You can throw him in at the deep end if you need him,” Tedesco told RBLive of Diallo. He then did exactly that against Shakhtar. “Diallo is a great player. An experienced player.”
Abdou Diallo missed out on Tottenham Hotspur move
Diallo may need all of that greatness, all of that experience, to help remedy this Leipzig defence; A backline once the best in the Bundesliga, now about as secure as a wicker prison cell on Alcatraz Island. And, to think, Diallo could have ended up at Tottenham Hotspur instead; joining a coach in Antonio Conte who has a remarkable track record when it comes to turning talented defenders into elite-level stoppers.
According to L’Equipe, Spurs showed an interest in Diallo back in June; turning to Barcelona misfit Clement Lenglet after being scared off by PSG’s £25 million asking price.
And unless Marco Rose can mastermind an immediate turnaround like Tedesco himself did when replacing Jesse Marsch nearly 12 months ago, then missing out on a move to an upwardly-mobile, ever-improving Spurs side with their sights firmly fixed on ending a long old trophy drought could start to feel all the more painful.
Diallo joined Tedesco hoping to get his stuttering career back on the right track. Suddenly, like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Chelsea, he finds himself under pressure to impress a new manager with the one who signed him bidding a rapid-fire farewell.
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