Icon: enlarge
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer could not prevent the penalty shoot-out
Photo:
Christian Charisius / dpa
Bayern coach Hansi Flick was amazed.
Flick had already spoken of "a shock" shortly after the game, at the press conference he then tried to explain the incomprehensible second round loss to Holstein Kiel in the DFB Cup.
"A lot of little things came together," he summed up, and then said: "This is a run we're currently having."
A run that is not a good one.
Because the many little things in the game of FC Bayern add up as pieces of the mosaic to a somewhat
questionable overall picture
:
Bayern's main problem is on the
defensive
.
In front of the Kiel equalizer to 1: 1, the back four had lined up along the center line when a further ball over the defensive row sent Fin Bartels, who was lurking at the same height, on the journey, who passed the ball past Manuel Neuer into the goal after a largely unpolluted solo pushed.
A goal conceded like the one Bayern has often received in the past few weeks, for example in the 5: 2 against Mainz or the 2: 3 in Gladbach: high wide balls over the advanced defense to a fast striker.
Always the same pattern, Bayern's game has become predictable.
"We have to turn that off"
But Flick does not want to let the defensive line stand defensively in the future either: “This is our game idea to put the opponent under pressure.
We had mentioned the things that we had trained, because you just have to secure the depth more.
That it didn't work out is disappointing.
We have to turn that off. "
Bayern also had difficulties
playing with the ball
: the structure was too error-prone, hardly a constructive move.
The offensive play of the full-backs Alphonso Davies and Benjamin Pavard, who came into the game late on Wednesday, is particularly poor in the triple season.
There is currently little impetus from the central defense, neither from Niklas Süle nor from David Alaba.
And at the front, Flick complained,
the flanks
didn't reach the middle.
"If the last pass comes in like a shot, half way up, we still have room for improvement." Clear words in the direction of Douglas Costa, who, with his far too imprecise assists as a winger, succeeded nothing on Wednesday.
And that brings you to the next Bayern construction site: the
entrances
.
Costa, who returned to Munich at the beginning of the season, has so far not been involved any more than most of the other commitments.
Even the so far rather disappointing right-back Bouna Sarr, Marc Roca, who played in midfield without luck in extra time, the striker backup Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, or the injured central defender Tanguy Nianzou have not yet been able to help Bayern.
Only star purchasing Leroy Sané sometimes shows his class, his free-kick goal on Wednesday to 2-1 was nice to look at.
But there is still a problem with him.
So far, he has not been able to implement what Bayern had hoped for from him.
And now comes the Bundesliga team of the hour
The consequence of all these problems: Bayern have become vulnerable and the opponents are therefore rebellious.
That was easy to see on Wednesday.
After conceding an early goal like the one, which was actually due to offside, now by Serge Gnabry, a lower-class team used to surrender to their fate.
But today the teams think: Bayern always get at least one goal, so why give up?
The only positive thing about the sensational bankruptcy: It brings a little air in the Bayern game calendar, which is very full in February with the Bundesliga, Club World Cup and Champions League.
Even if Hansi Flick never wants to accept tiredness, exhaustion and overwork as an excuse: You can tell from Bayern that they are tired, exhausted and overworked.
That is also why the defensive problems are punished so regularly by the opponents at the moment.
This is what the game plan would have looked like if Bayern had won: Bayern would have played the upcoming round of 16 game against Darmstadt on February 2, three days after their home game against Hoffenheim.
On 5.2.
it goes to Berlin, then the trip to Qatar for the Club World Cup, with the semi-finals on 8.2.
and possible final on 11.2.
And on February 14th comes Bielefeld.
Maybe it doesn't hurt to have a break in between.
On Sunday, SC Freiburg will come to Munich for the first time, with five wins from five games the most successful team in the league.
Hansi Flick and his Bayern team have to fix the mistakes as quickly as possible, otherwise it will be a miserable start to the new year.
Icon: The mirror