Raphaël Guerreiro earns Tuchel praise after celebrating Portugal recall with first Bayern goal | OneFootball

Bayern 4-2 Heidenheim

It has been a test of patience for Raphaël Guerreiro so far this season, with the Portuguese international having to bide his time during the early stages of his Bayern Munich career due to injury.

Now fully recovered from a calf problem, Guerreiro has been slowly integrated by manager Thomas Tuchel in recent weeks. On Saturday, the Seleção man came off the bench and proved a vital introduction by restoring Bayern’s lead in an entertaining win over Heidenheim.

Guerreiro was recalled to Roberto Martinez’s Portugal squad this weekend as replacement for injured Wolverhampton Wanderers full-back Nélson Semedo. Starting on the bench in Bayern’s home clash with Heidenheim, Guerreiro was introduced with the hosts 2-0 up through a Harry Kane brace, but a quickfire double from Tim Kleindienst (67’) and Jan Beste (70’) saw Heidenheim draw the score level at 2-2 with twenty minutes remaining.

Thanks to Guerreiro, Bayern almost immediately re-took the lead. The summer signing from rivals Borussia Dortmund was in the right place when Eric Choupo-Moting’s shot was saved by Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Müller, with Guerreiro finishing with a crisp first-time shot on his favoured left foot from the edge of the penalty area.

A brilliant header by Choupo-Moting put the seal on Bayern’s win, after which manager Thomas Tuchel was asked about Guerreiro’s impact. “He’s smart, he’s safe on the ball,” Tuchel said. “Always has an idea, very precise in what he does. His short passing brings pace to the game and he’s so precise in his work. We need to do everything to make sure he stays healthy and he’ll help us a lot.

“It’s a great comeback for him. We held him back a little bit due to his muscular history, but to come back and score a goal like that is perfect.”

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