It really hasn’t been as straightforward a season the fans and everyone associated with FC Bayern Munich have been accustomed to over the last couple of years. Believe me Bayern Munich have been utterly ruthless and always look like a well drilled team anytime they take to the pitch and that is also evident in their goal count, scoring 4+ goals per match and dominating the game in terms of possession of the ball and the transitions in games.
They bossed everyone who they played with more often than not and that has reflected handsomely in the amount of trophies added to their cabinet as they have included consecutive Bundesliga trophies, the DFB Pokal trophy and of course their sixth Champions league title. They are one of if not the most decorated teams in Germany and in the world and have looked to maintain a firm grip over the Bundesliga title winning it an astounding thirty times in total and have consistently won the league since 2013 till date.
It’s simple… Winning is in the Bayern DNA.
Unfortunately for them this season they have more or less looked a shadow of their former selves in the league and this has made people question if they will end up retaining the Meisterschale (championship shield; as the Bundesliga is popularly called) as they have done so prominently in the past. Their recent loss to Mainz off the back of their Champions league exit to Manchester City sums up their season. They are not as potent in attack as they normally are known for and they have missed the presence of a traditional number 9 of the back of their star striker over the years Robert Lewandowski who joined FC Barcelona last summer. They don’t look as frightening as they usually are without him in the side.
But it’s not just only that…
The question you might muster would be what could be wrong with this Bayern side who have enjoyed so much success? Let’s look at some key factors.
NO REGULAR GOAL SCORER.
Bayern’s success over the years has been attributed largely to the amount of goals they have scored and the intensity at which they all press to win back possession and look to score again from there on in. This has been lacking this term and as such their goal tally has reduced this season. The loss of Robert Lewandowski has made scoring goals a bit more difficult and a little less fluid as we are accustomed to. The inclusion of Sadio Mané was done in a bid to help the course and help Bayern firing again but the Senegalese hasn’t fully gotten accustomed to the style of the team and has also been hampered with an injury that put him on the shelf for an extended period this season. They have had to look for goals else where with Jamal Musiala being their top goal scorer so far this season with eleven goals. Striker, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has come to the fore more this season due to Lewandowski’s departure and has scored ten goals this season in the league but hasn’t been as consistent as he had previously been before the World cup.
They would be looking to fix this problem this summer by splashing the cash in the transfer market with a lot of good strikers looking to be available in the summer, Bayern would be monitoring the situation and looking to get a deal done for a good one and fast.
INTENSITY? NIL
A team known for lots of intensity and quick fire football has showed little by way of that this season and this worsen after the World Cup. It looked like most of the players in the team were still rattled by the outcomes of their respective countries especially the Germans. You would notice a blip in the form of someone like Jamal Musiala who was in the German side that were shockingly knocked out in the group stages of the tournament and Choupo-Moting who has had flashes of form but hasn’t been as consistent.
Under previous managers like Hansi Flick and Jupp Heynckes, Bayern looked more or less like a machine that was always relentlessly on the attack and in search for more goals no matter the score line of the match but under Naglesmann they weren’t looking so much like that consistently.
Speaking of managers…
SACKING NAGELSMANN.
Now hear me out…
Julian Nagelsmann as the Bayern coach wasn’t regarded as the traditional Bayern type of coach with so much running and intense pressing but he was certainly a great manager who won silverware for the club in his first season but this season the cracks were starting to show and the results just weren’t coming along as much as they usually do. Bayern Munich were struggling to get results against lesser opponents and sometimes they don’t even get the points at all.
But…
In the Champions league he has been more or less coasting with the team beating every single opponent home and away this season and by virtue earning a perfect record in the Champions league but the board didn’t take to kind to what he was doing in the Bundesliga and how he was said to have been managing the players so the decision was made to relieve him off his duties as head coach.
Wise? You tell me…
Tuchel was then put in charge of Bayern following this decision. He was seen as the ideal manager to take this Bayern side to European and domestic glory this season but after seven games in charge he has managed to equal Nagelsmann’s number of defeats (3) this season and has been eliminated from the DFB Pokal and the Champions league.
The question now is: Should they have waited till the end of the season for them to pull the trigger on Nagelsmann?
I’ll look out for your answers in the comments…
INJURIES.. MAJOR INJURIES.
This has been no doubt a very difficult season for the Bavarians but the injuries to key players over the course of the season has only just compounded their misery. Injuries to Lucas Hernandez who suffered a knee injury in the World cup for France has been out since November and Sadio Mané who has only just recovered from his long term injury last month that kept him out of the world cup indefinitely have been players who have done well to shrug off the injuries and recover to take further part in the season.
Others not so much.
Manuel Neuer, Bayern captain suffered a broken leg and was sidelined indefinitely till the end of the season in late December he has since then been replaced by the new arrival of Yan Sommer in goal who might not be as assured as Neuer but is still a good shot stopper regardless.
Still on the long term injury list.
Alphonso Davies recently pulled up with what would appear to be a hamstring tear in his left leg and has been predicted to also be ruled out for the rest of the season. The Canadian left back suffered this setback recently in the early minutes of the recent game against Mainz unchallenged and from their on the game became from bad to worse as they lost the game 3–1 in the end.
That loss meant Dortmund would climb to the summit of the Bundesliga with a win against Frankfurt and this time the Black and Yellow took their chance with a resounding 4–0 win.
DON’T RULE THEM OUT JUST YET.
As numerous seasons have gone in the Bundesliga, Bayern have always showed that bulldog mentality when opposition teams dare challenge for their crown and you wouldn’t think this Bayern side would let Dortmund get to the title without a fight, would you?
Whatever happens it certainly feels more of a competition this time for the Meisterschale because it’s been more or less a smooth ride for Bayern over the years but who knows we could actually crown new champions this season. The title race is still very much open regardless of who is on top at the moment and I for one am eager to see how this unfolds.
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