In the undeserved 1: 2 against Eintracht Frankfurt, Julian Nagelsmann experienced his first defeat as coach of FC Bayern Munich. He then covertly rephrased it as a threat. Now a great task awaits him.
Black above, light blue below and a motley pattern in between, plus three pink Adidas stripes. In his eleventh competitive game as coach of FC Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann did for the first time what he loved to do in his previous positions: He attracted attention with a fancy outfit. So far he had been hanging around on the Munich sideline mainly in subtle black.
While Nagelsmann was wearing his training jacket, which took some getting used to, he experienced another premiere: After a draw and nine wins, he lost a competitive game for the first time as coach of FC Bayern, 1: 2 against Eintracht Frankfurt. Because Bayer Leverkusen subsequently won at Arminia Bielefeld, his team only leads the Bundesliga table because of the better goal difference.
But it wasn’t a defeat that should give him cause for concern. FC Bayern didn’t disappoint, on the contrary: They dominated the game, had almost 72 percent possession, several well-played chances, 20: 5 shots on goal and 10: 1 corners. Martin Hinteregger headed the only corner of Frankfurt after Leon Goretzka’s opening goal, but to equalize in the goal and shortly before the end Filip Kostic finally marked the decisive 2-1.
FC Bayern failed in the offensive game due to their own inaccuracy and an outstanding Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. And in the defensive game of individual carelessness of the recently so convincing Dayot Upamecano before both goals. So the problem was not in the system.
Nagelsmann on the type of defeat: “Better feeling”
“I didn’t think the game was great any different from the games in the last few weeks. We had a lot of chances, but we didn’t score as many goals as we did against Bochum or Kiev,” said Nagelsmann. The games against VfL Bochum and Dynamo Kiev ended 7: 0 and 5: 0, in between there was a 3: 1 at SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
Accordingly, according to Nagelsmann, FC Bayern “didn’t necessarily have to lose” against Frankfurt, which sounded a bit silly considering the brutal dominance. But if it absolutely has to be a defeat, then in the end he prefers one like that: “I said in the dressing room: When you are defeated, it is important that you have it in your own hands. That is a better feeling than when you are defeated you didn’t have it in your own hands. And we had a lot in our own hands. “
Despite all the dominance and the functioning system, Nagelsmann still found a few opportunities for improvement. For example, the opponent would have had “too much room to switch”, too much space and time in the sixth position. Nagelsmann had already noticed similar problems in previous high victories, but at that time they went unpunished. “There is a lot to be gained from the last three games where we can do things better,” he said, adding: “Want to do better – and we will do better too.” Nagelsmann speaks how his team plays: always looking for improvements and still confident of victory.
With these sentences Nagelsmann casually managed to reformulate a sporting defeat into something like a hidden threat to the competition. During the triumphant march, Nagelsmann’s team offered impressive football, despite all the alleged shortcomings, just like against Frankfurt, which in terms of tactical variability and dominance reminded a bit of that of its famous before-before-before-before predecessor Pep Guardiola.
Nagelsmann has to devote himself to stress control
A small core of players was responsible for the implementation: In the six games in 22 days since the last international break, Nagelsmann only trusted Jamal Musiala and Josip Stanisic once in the starting eleven, apart from twelve long-running hits. When asked about a possible break for Joshua Kimmich, Nagelsmann said last week as an example: “There is no consideration to spare him.”
Exactly the same starting eleven began against Frankfurt as against Kiev four days earlier and, despite the open game, Nagelsmann waited until the 70th minute to make the first change. “We had our best staff in the first team, who have done very well in the last few weeks,” said Nagelsmann. That also means: He recognizes a clear performance gap in his squad.
After the initial success with a well-rehearsed little core, Nagelsmann will have to devote himself more intensively to the task of load control in the coming months. Success in all three competitions ultimately requires a broader field of regularly tested starting XI players, otherwise there is a risk of overload and overplaying.
After the international break, Nagelsmann can at least fall back on another potential regular player with the recovered Kingsley Coman. He will push for missions, just like newcomer Marcel Sabitzer or super talent Musiala, for example.
