Lewandowski, Neuer, Müller and Gnabry will surely not all sign new deals but Nagelsmann looks safe despite tactical flawIt was a shock but also a logical end point, the surprise that you knew could be coming. Although a visibly stunned Thomas Müller insisted after full time on Tuesday that “an [equalising] goal wasn’t in the air”, Samuel Chukwueze’s late goal for Villarreal that ousted Bayern Munich from the Champions League was a sucker punch via a predictable route.Although on paper Bayern had breezed past Red Bull Salzburg in the previous round, they had diced with danger – Kingsley Coman equalising late in the first leg after Salzburg had worn themselves out. Matthias Jaissle’s young team even had the better chances...
The quiet Italian is a born winner set to become a champion in a fifth country – and he may even add a fourth European CupIn 2016 Bayern Munich faced a very difficult task. The club had to find a successor for Pep Guardiola. Only one came into consideration: Carlo Ancelotti. For us players this meant a change on the one hand. What Ancelotti said in one week, Guardiola said in three hours. On the other hand, as was the case for his predecessor, it was also true for Ancelotti: as a player you feel comfortable because you sense that the coach is ready to make his methods available to the team. That is why he is successful everywhere.In a...
An overcommitment to attack and a lack of organisation has led to the champions slipping up at a vital stage of the seasonThis could have been Tuesday night all over again. So much of Bayern Munich’s play dazzled a sold-out PreZero Arena, and the champions could easily have done to Hoffenheim what they had done to Red Bull Salzburg four days previously. Maybe the difference between the two games was just “a little bit of luck,” as Thomas Müller said it was.There was certainly little sense of anguish or regret. Julian Nagelsmann may have the luxury of being able to look at the process knowing that the results will likely follow, but he was satisfied with his team’s performance. Bayern...
Furious fans interrupted training after the cup defeat to Union Berlin in midweek and the pressure intensified on Sunday“We have to make sure,” said Hertha Berlin head coach, Tayfun Korkut, “that we put this week behind us and focus on the coming games.” A mere 109 seconds into Sunday’s game against Bayern Munich Corentin Tolisso had the ball in the Hertha net and was called for a marginal offside, and even before the midfielder eventually headed the opener it never felt like the home side were doing anything other than trying to contain the deluge in a paper cup, as Neil Finn might have said – but the coach meant more than just that. Continue reading...
Existential angst over competitiveness shouldn’t overshadow the fact we are looking at possibly the best team in EuropeWe’ve seen it before, but it’s still difficult to know exactly how it should be characterised. It was brilliant, beautiful, ugly, deflating, awe-inspiring and a huge letdown all at the same time. Bayern Munich’s hegemony shows no sign of letting up and neither does it show any potential for being less of a source of conflicting feelings and views.Normally the Bundesliga’s Top-Spiel is on a Saturday at 6.30pm local time, situated perfectly between going to a game in the afternoon and stepping out for the night. Yet Bayern’s visit to Leverkusen – enterprising and entertaining thus far under new coach Gerardo Seoane –...