FC Bayern welcomes Bayer Leverkusen after the international break. After four Bundesliga games without a win in a row, all eyes are on Munich and coach Julian Nagelsmann – were two weeks enough to get the team back on track?
“Question everything,” wanted FC Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann after the 0-1 draw at FC Augsburg in the subsequent international break. Before the Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen (Friday, 8.30 p.m., live radio report and ticker on BR24 Sport) the results sounded sobering.
“I watched and analyzed all the games again,” said Nagelsmann. In addition, he “spoke to old companions” without naming specific names in order to get input from outside. But there were hardly any new findings. Better switching after winning the ball, having clear processes, making better use of goal situations in the last third – Nagelsmann is not the only one who knows where FC Bayern is currently stuck.
Sadio Mané is looking for top form
Another weakness in the current Bayern game: top performers are weakening, Nagelsmann has many one-on-one meetings. New signing Sadio Mané? “In the end he has to help implement the plan. He doesn’t have to worry.” It is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put Mané in the best position. “He’ll be in top form again quickly, I have no doubts about that,” said Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann and the Babbel criticism of Joshua Kimmich
Midfield all-rounder Joshua Kimmich is a second player who is not always in top form at the moment. Ex-professional Markus Babbel had clearly criticized Kimmich in Focus Sport on BR television: “He’s doing too much gymnastics.”
Bayern are not always top in the statistics either
Like Nagelsmann, his Leverkusen counterpart Gerardo Seoane eagerly rolled over statistics and numbers before the duel. “Bayern are the leaders in all statistical numbers in the league. They always had enough chances to score in all games and are extremely strong on offense. At the moment they are lacking in effectiveness,” he said of the opponent.
But the numbers underline the Munich dilemma quite clearly. Although the record champions in statistics like ball contacts and passports is a leader is particularly evident in the shots on goal a frightening picture.
164 times in seven games, the Munich team aimed at the opponent’s goal, only 19 times a goal was scored. The champion of efficiency is the current table leader Union Berlin: The “iron” needed just 85 attempts for their 15 goals this season.
“In general, I think that everyone is allowed to express their opinion, we have to endure that,” Nagelsmann said of the Babbel criticism. However, he also emphasized that the opinions of outsiders mean little to him without deep insight. “In general, Josh is an important player for me and Bayern,” emphasized Nagelsmann: “He has full confidence.”
No thoughts of resignation
And the criticism of himself? “I always question myself,” he explained, but also emphasized that he had no “thoughts of resignation” in the past few weeks. “The fact that the last two weeks have left me cold would be a lie,” added Nagelsmann. At the same time, he also emphasized that, despite the weak start to the Bundesliga, “you don’t have to change everything”.
His Bayern “didn’t design a few goal-scoring situations the way we should do it.” At the beginning of the season, his team’s exploitation of big chances was over 70 percent, recently it was only slightly over 20 percent.” In this respect, he didn’t want to talk about the “two faces” of his team, which the media hyped up.
“We still have a lot up our sleeve”
In Nagelsmann’s view, the main difference at the start of the season was that his team had always scored early goals. “We always had a can opener that we won games like this,” he explained. “Good chance conversion, high efficiency”, his team has to come back to that. And regardless of that: “I know that we still have a few things up our sleeve that we haven’t shown yet.”
Source: BR24 Sport 09/28/2022 – 09:55 a.m
