It’s not a question we often ask ourselves after 10 titles in a row, but what about Bayern Munich?
His unrelenting dominance at the national level had drawn some glances away from Germany’s top flight. a procession Bayern will always win, what’s the point?
Well, consider looking back at the team in Bavaria, only this time it’s a change, rather than a celebration, in what they find.
Here they sit, fifth in the standings, with question marks over their tactics, the decision to grant Robert Lewandowski his wish to leave, why the players already look so tired, and what the hell is Julian Nagelsmann wearing?
Charged from front to back, and yet things aren’t working out and Bayern’s star-studded German team is feeling the domino effect.
sports mail take a closer look at how Bayern’s free-scoring start has given way to a disjointed, lethargic streak that has bosses sweating over their championship monopoly.
Julian Nagelsmann criticized his Bayern Munich players after their 1-0 loss to Augsburg
Club bosses Hasan Salihamidzi (left) and Oliver Kahn (right) have expressed their concerns.
Nagelsmann in focus – on and off the pitch
“We did a very intensive analysis. Julian is very clear. He and his staff know exactly what to do,” Hasan Salihamidžić told Sport Bild.
“Julian knows that he has the full support of FC Bayern, we don’t need to emphasize that over and over again.”
A resounding endorsement, but it seems that all is not entirely harmonious, no matter how hard Salihamidžić tries to smooth things over in the papers.
A report in Bild has claimed that there have been internal complaints at Bayern about Nagelsmann’s touchline attire.
Much more modern and a step away from the traditional suit or tracksuit that many coaches favor, the Bild report claims that people behind the scenes at Bayern want Nagelsmann to see match days through a football lens and not the show business.
Julian Nagelsmann had a frank conversation with his bosses at Bayern during the international break
Reports in Germany have claimed that some at Bayern have questioned Nagelsmann’s outfits.
Notably, Nagelsmann wears adidas and Hugo Boss gear to matches and both are title sponsors of Bayern. He is not breaking any rules with his wardrobe choices.
Bild has also claimed that his arrival at training, which has been both on a skateboard and on a Harley, is seen as an ‘unnecessary spectacle’.
Amid all the talk of Thomas Tuchel, brutally sacked by Chelsea earlier this season, waiting in the wings, all the talk in Bavaria is that there is no immediate threat to Nagelsmann’s job.
There seems to be behind-the-scenes agreement that the players are the underperformers, but now that the international window is drawing to a close, patience with Nagelsmann won’t run out forever.
Less and less xG
Taking the first six league games as a sample, the Bayern creation went down, down, and down to the point where Nagelsmann could have checked to see if their top scorer had taken some annual leave.
Disclaimer, brilliant start: Helped hugely by a 7-0 win over Bochum, they have Bayern as the top scorer in the Bundesliga, with 19 goals.
In the three games that followed that win over Bochum: 1-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach, 1-1 against Union Berlin and 2-2 against Stuttgart.
Nagelsmann is working his way through a myriad of personnel changes and also a constant evolution of style, but with that he is still expected to deliver winning football and engaging football.
In the first three games, wins over Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg and Bochum, they delivered an average of 3.1 expected goals per game. They scored 15 in those three games.
Bayern started the season scoring freely, but have seen their expected goals tally drop.
Robert Lewandowski left Bayern in the summer and has already proved successful at Barcelona.
But interestingly, the forward line has only created an average of 1.7 expected goals in the three games that have followed, giving up four goals in three.
To the surprise of very few, Bayern dominate possession but do not punish the full-backs as they did against Frankfurt (6-1) and Bochum (7-0).
They may be the best in possession metrics, but they are also the best in the Bundesliga for missed opportunities.
Fifth in the table is an absolute disaster for Bayern, but they have loads of talent and know they need to move a few pieces to make it all fall into place.
Right now, there’s no escaping the fact that the attack isn’t working anywhere near its potential. Get that part right and the rest will follow.
Drifting through the games
One of the biggest criticisms that can be leveled at this current incarnation of Bayern is that they look lethargic and, on more than one occasion, predictable.
Too often in games, fans are left questioning both the effort and the application.
Bayern are looking to win an 11th Bundesliga title in a row and thus it can be seen where complacency may have crept in.
But Bayern, so early in a season that will be like no other with a World Cup splitting it in two, look physically beside themselves.
The accusations made against Bayern is that they are drifting in this season’s games
With Serge Gnabry, Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Alphonso Davies, pace and energy should be the last thing to foul this Bayern.
This lethargic tendency had crept in towards the end of last season and hasn’t been fixed yet, only then they had Lewandowski to rescue them.
Call it decreased chemistry, call it fatigue after so many seasons at the top level, it’s hard to pin down specifically, but Stuttgart, drawing 2-2 in Munich, and Augsburg, winning 1-0 at home, seemed more changed. . off and less error prone in his approach game.
Even Nagelsmann couldn’t hold his tongue after that latest loss.
The German boss told Sky: ‘We are very, very laissez-faire in the last third. In training, we don’t even have that much of a majority.
Questions have been raised about Serge Gnabry (right) as Bayern appear lethargic in games.
‘I think of everything. About me. About the situation. Above all.’
A great meeting was held during the international break and, look, it is believed that form is temporary and class is permanent and that Bayern, over time, will be fine.
“We will show a different face after the international break,” added Salihamidžić.
And I hope so too. Physical intensity, hunger and desire to do your best in every game. We also need a much better and more focused conversion opportunity.’
Mane struggling to settle down
Three goals in his first three league games suggested that Mane was going to take German football like a fish to water.
That, with the benefit of hindsight, would turn out to be vastly premature, as it shows a despondent figure solving a puzzle that continues to baffle him.
In the loss to Augsburg before the international break, Mane was deployed, as Nagelsmann often is, as the de facto number 9 in a 4-2-3-1 system.
Jamal Musiala usually takes the wide left-wing role, the role Mane really wants, and Mane now has just one goal in his last seven appearances for Bayern.
That goal came in a routine 5-0 victory against Viktoria Koln in the German Cup in late August.
“Sadio still needs a bit of time, he also has to get used to the Bundesliga, but he will,” Salihamidžić added.
Sadio Mané is in a slump at Bayern Munich after a series of games without scoring
“I know what it’s like to come as a newcomer to a team, in a different country, in a different city, in a slightly different football culture.”
Much of Mane’s electricity and dynamism at Liverpool came when he was able to use his pace, get ahead of a player and take the lead.
But working as No. 9 in Nagelsmann’s system, things are, so far, not working out and that, while not an immediate concern with many in Munich convinced he is too talented not to notice, will be a concern. .
Five goals in 11 matches is far from a disaster, but this is Bayern on their worst domestic run in 20 years with their former striker providing an attacking clinic at this point for Barcelona.
Bild themselves added that his own form has not escaped Mane, in fact he is ‘not looking for excuses’ and ‘is upset’ that he is not fulfilling his potential.
If Mane returns from international duty and begins to look like the player Liverpool were so eager to keep, all this ‘crisis’ talk will fade quickly. See this drought stretch to 10 or more games and the pressure will be immense.
Mane (right) seems less than comfortable in a central role and would rather be on the left
Source: news.google.com