Felix Magath missed out on a match point in the relegation battle with Hertha BSC after conceding a goal in added time. What made the coach Fuchs even more angry, however, was the disappointing performance of FC Bayern in the parallel game against Mainz. He fears distortion of competition in the season finale. Julian Nagelsmann did not let the criticism sit for long.
“I didn’t see Bayern’s game and I only know the result from Mainz. FC Bayern are already champions, but I don’t know why a team has stopped playing three weeks before the end of the season. That doesn’t serve the Bundesliga and that Competition,” the 68-year-old rumbled after his Berliners’ away game against Arminia Bielefeld on “Sky”.
Hertha had conceded a late goal from Joakim Nilsson shortly before. Instead of pulling away to six points with a win at the Bielefelder Alm two games before the end, the gap to VfB Stuttgart on the relegation place is still only four points.
Magath is worried that the Swabians will play Bayern Munich on the upcoming matchday. “The situation is still critical between VfB Stuttgart and us. You don’t know what to say about it: FC Bayern are champions and you don’t know if they have stopped playing,” said the veteran, who beat the record champions once coached himself.
In fact, FC Bayern had played long stretches of the game in Mainz completely in overdrive. Aggressive 05s dominated the action right from the start. In the end, the result of 1: 3 was still merciful for the Munich team.
Nagelsmann reacts to Magath: “Very clever of him”
After 90 minutes it was 24:4 for the home side in the goal shot statistics. In addition, the Mainz ran about eight kilometers more and won 56 percent of all duels.
However, Julian Nagelsmann did not want to let Felix Magath’s statements stand without comment. “That’s very clever of him. I don’t think he’ll do it entirely unselfishly. But he should watch the game and then he can call me. I’m not talking about Hertha’s performance now either,” quoted “picture“.
In any case, the Munich master coach was harsh on his protégés after the well-deserved bankruptcy in Mainz: “I think that we always need a certain basic passion in the game. We didn’t have that today. That you don’t go to the extreme in every situation, is a bit human after the tenth title in a row. But we still wear the logo on our chests,” the coach complained.
His eleven had made the championship perfect the previous week with a 3-1 win against BVB. Since FC Bayern has already said goodbye early in the DFB Cup and in the Champions League, the Nagelsmann team is no longer at stake in the season finale.