Something is rotten in the state of Bavaria. Bayern Munich should be celebrating a third consecutive Bundesliga title, but a shock 1-0 home loss to Augsburg on Saturday left Pep Guardiola with four straight defeat for the first time in his coaching career.
The Catalan coach declared that Bayern’s league season was over following another impressive title triumph, presumably under the impression that his players would duly shift their focus towards the Champions League semi-finals.
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Unfortunately for Guardiola, his players have taken his words quite literally, and the few regular starters who remain fit are already on the beach as his potential haul of trophies has shrunk from three to one in a matter of weeks.
Pepe Reina got the ball rolling on Saturday as he received his marching orders just 12 minutes in against Augsburg, though Markus Weinzierl hit the post from the penalty spot after the goalkeeper had felled Raul Bobadilla.
But the visitors were not to be denied as Bobadilla ultimately made the difference was a fabulous back-heel flick past substitute keeper Manuel Neuer 19 minutes from time, with Bayern – a side that has hit 77 goals in 32 league games this term – unable to muster a reply for the third game running.
Bayern’s 16 shots versus Augsburg.
Bayern have in truth faced stern tests in recent weeks: they exited the DFB-Pokal to a Borussia Dortmund side hell-bent on giving Jurgen Klopp a parting trophy, and were then beaten by a well-drilled Bayer Leverkusen side in fine form chasing Champions League qualification.
Guardiola’s return to Barcelona proved fruitless as they succumbed to a 3-0 first-leg defeat, though few if any teams in world football can stop Luis Enrique’s attack – Jerome Boateng will may still be having nightmares after being left for dead by Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou.
Augsburg are still fighting for Europa League football, and though a home defeat was a surprise for Bayern, Markus Weinzierl’s side are on course for a hugely respectable fifth-placed finish. However, his team were not required to be especially impressive in Munich, with goalkeeper Marwin Hitz and defender Ragnar Klavan Augsburg’s top players with a shared Performance Score of 35.
The simple truth is that Bayern have all but given up the ghost since becoming champions. Injuries to key personnel have played a role with Guardiola also experimenting with younger players, though club legend Lothar Matthaus believes that the coach has lost the Bayern dressing room, saying: “It seems the players are losing a bit of belief in the coach, and he hadn’t expected that.”
Bayern were the best team in Europe’s Top 5 leagues by Performance Score per game, ahead of their Champions League rivals, before their title win.
With rumours circulating that Manchester City are targeting the 44-year-old to take over from Manuel Pellegrini this summer, via beIN SPORTS, Guardiola may have a decision to make in the coming weeks. While he has a superb set-up at the Allianz Arena with a potent blend of world-class players in the prime alongside emerging starlets, expectations are fierce.
Having succeeded the treble-winning Jupp Heynckes, anything but a similar haul – though in reality the Champions League trophy – will ultimately see Guardiola’s time at Bayern deemed a failure. The nature of coaching Germany’s premier club is that the Bundesliga is a mandatory achievement, with the real task building a European legacy.
Bayern are now ranked 58th amongst the teams of Europe’s Top 5 based on their form since winning the title, well below their Champions League rivals.
Whether Guardiola can do so at Bayern remains to be seen, and Die Roten fans will have to wait at least a year longer with Barcelona almost certain to reach the Champions League final.
The fact that this year’s showpiece game will be played at Berlin’s Olympiastadion will not be lost on the Bayern hierarchy, and Guardiola will have to end the season strongly to ensure a title-winning campaign does not end with a fractured squad.
European battle bubbling away
The race for the top four took a twist on Saturday as Borussia Monchengladbach humbled Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to all but confirm an automatic Champions League qualification spot. Max Kruse, Patrick Herrmann and Ibrahima Traore all scored for Gladbach to halt Leverkusen’s impressive 10-game unbeaten Bundesliga run, and extend their own streak to 12 (including nine wins).
The defeat will likely leave Leverkusen needing to qualify for the competition via the playoffs, while Lucien Favre and his side can look forward to a bumper payday and start to target top transfers with the security that competing in the group stages will bring.
Gladbach’s fine form has them breathing down Wolfsburg’s neck, but Dieter Hecking’s side arrested their three-game winless run but overcoming Paderborn 3-1 away from home courtesy of a strike from the impressive Tim Klose and a Bas Dost brace.
Timm Klose won all eight of his aerial duels as Wolfsburg triumphed over Paderborn.
Dost is a curious forward – he failed to score until December 6 this season, but has now netted 16 in 19 league matches this term. Having hit another 12 between Dec. 20 and March 1, Dost then went without another until May 2, but has three in his last two games. He scores in fits and starts, but his club have benefited hugely when he has hit form.
Wolfsburg’s win keeps them two points clear in second, and they have sought to arrest the growing threat of Gladbach by announcing that they will sign the Foals’ star forward Max Kruse this summer (via Goal). The 27-year-old has 11 goals and eight assists this term, and will provide a much-needed outlet in terms of productivity and creativity should Kevin De Bruyne be sold.
This week, for instance, Bild (via Metro) claimed Manchester United had opened talks with the playmaker, who it is claimed is valued at €69million (£50m).
The purchase of Kruse will arm Wolfsburg for next term as they look to go make their mark in the Champions League. Bayern will no doubt be huge favourites for the title again, but with a few more intelligent signings and Andre Schurrle yet to hit top form, Die Wolfe could be a force to be reckoned with this time next year.
Kruse has scored 11 goals in the Bundesliga this season.
Relegation race hots up
It’s been a war of attrition at the bottom for the Bundesliga this term, with half a dozen sides entering the final two games with all to play for. Stuttgart sit at the foot of the table on 30 points, but are just a point (and nine goals) from safety having earned a vital 2-0 victory over Mainz on Saturday.
Cologne’s home win over Schalke on Saturday moved them on to 39 points, with the spread effectively leaving six clubs in the mix. Last year Nurnberg and Eintracht Braunschweig went down by seven and six-point gaps respectively, while Hamburg survived the relegation playoffs – but this term it’s a tighter-run affair.
Sitting in 13th spot at this stage of the season would usually see most teams swanning into their final two games, but Hertha Berlin have just 34 points after a 2-0 defeat at Dortmund – anything less than a win in their penultimate game against Eintracht Frankfurt could see them heading into the final match day full of nerves.
Hannover’s hopes would have been boosted had Zlatko Junuzovica not earned visitors Werder Bremen a late 1-1 draw at the Niedersachsenstadion, meaning they ended the weekend 16th instead of 14th.
Hamburg, meanwhile, snatched a late point at home to Freiburg, with Gojko Kacar scoring in the final minute to keep Der Dinosaurier a point above the drop zone.
Eintracht Frankfurt fans can breathe a sigh of relief after their 3-1 win over Hoffenheim secured their top-flight status for another year. The disappointing defeat leaves Hoffenheim four points adrift of sixth-placed Schalke, with a mid-table finish more likely than a late push for Europa League football.
Topics: Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Bundesliga, BVB, Champions League, german football, germany, gladbach, Pep Guardiola, Relegation, Wolfsburg
Related Teams: 1899 Hoffenheim, Augsburg, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Augsburg, FC Koln, FC Nuremburg, FC Shalke 04, FSV Mainz 05, German Bundesliga, Hamburger SV, Hannover 96, Hertha Berlin, SC Freiburg, SC Paderborn, VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen
