Bayern Munich suffered their first Bundesliga defeat of the season on Saturday but when that defeat is 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt that is enough to spark talk of a crisis in Bavaria. Erik ten Hag is not the only coach under pressure at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
When Niko Kovac saw his Bayern side beaten 5-1 in Frankfurt in November 2019, he was sacked within 24 hours. They were four points off top at the time – exactly where Thomas Tuchel finds his team now. In both cases, the issues are about more than one match.
The warning signs were there in the first game of the season when Bayern were beaten 3-0 inside their own stadium in the Supercup against RB Leipzig. At the start of last month, they were eliminated from domestic cup competition by third-tier side Saarbrucken.
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Kevin Hatchard and the Transfer Talk panel reflect on Harry Kane’s impact at Bayern Munich
Harry Kane has been superb up front, the top scorer in the Bundesliga. But there is a growing feeling that his goal record is glossing over weaknesses that could prove costly when the competition intensifies in the second half of the season.
Bayern are the top scorers in the Bundesliga, frequently brushing aside the opposition, That includes an impressive 4-0 win away to Borussia Dortmund but they are yet to beat any of the other teams currently occupying the top four positions in the table.
Tuchel offered his own explanation for what happened in Frankfurt. He pointed to his own confused messaging before kick-off when he mistakenly believed that the opposition might be lining up with five at the back instead. “Maybe we gave too much information.”
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund suggested it was an attitude problem. “It is not just the defence. The whole team was bad.” Former Bayern midfielder Stefan Effenberg pointed the blame at the midfield pair of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka.
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Watch highlights as Eintracht Frankfurt stunned Bayern Munich with a 5-1 victory
Although it was the two full-backs that Tuchel removed at half-time, this issue of midfield balance dominated the discourse in the summer. His predecessor and now Germany national team boss Julian Nagelsmann still sees Kimmich as a No 6. Tuchel does not.
He publicly questioned whether the Bayern captain is best suited to this role, having been converted from full-back earlier in his career. His form is unlikely to have dissuaded Tuchel. Kimmich scored against Frankfurt but Bayern were too easy to play through.
Lothar Matthaus has a different view of Kimmich’s capabilities and has been a vocal critic of Tuchel’s handling of the situation. Speaking to Germany’s former World Cup-winning captain, a Bayern legend, he insists the club’s problems stem from the summer.
“Bayern did not do a good job in the transfer [window],” says Matthaus. “Buying Harry Kane? OK, very good transfer. But generally, how they did their business was not Bayern like. It was not good. The communication in the club was not working well.”
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In particular, he is referring to the treatment of Kimmich. This is not a player known for being short on confidence but his position was undermined. “You can say as coach, ‘I need another No 6. I don’t see Kimmich in my system as a holding 6.’ That is OK,” adds Matthaus.
“But this was going from day to day, headlines in the newspaper. How can I say as a coach 10 times that I want a holding 6. Kimmich is playing now as a holding 6. Kimmich did not like to listen to this every day. I cannot understand Thomas Tuchel. He could not stop it.”
Tuchel’s strategy appeared designed to encourage those above him to make a deal happen. “They were looking for a 6. Declan Rice goes to Arsenal. Then they were looking at another No 6 but it was delayed.” Tuchel had to persist with Kimmich and Goretzka.
Matthaus, however, is unsympathetic because he, like many of Bayern’s supporters, has seen the club enjoy many years of sustained success with this midfield. “There was a holding 6. His name was Kimmich. He is good enough to play this position.”
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Thomas Tuchel stormed out of an interview after criticism from Lothar Matthaus
Importantly, that is the view of Kimmich himself who has long maintained his preference for the role in midfield. “I think I can do both, the defensive and the more offensive part. I am flexible when it comes to that. I will play the way we need.”
This is the challenge facing Tuchel. For now, the onus is on him to coach his players rather than solve the problems in the transfer market. Bayern want to see him do that. The idea that Kimmich cannot be coached receives short shrift from Matthaus.
“When he is playing two steps to the right or five steps too far towards the offence, then I have to talk with him. He is not stupid. He is smart. He would like to improve, he would like to win titles with this team. You have to communicate with the players.”
Eventually, the most likely outcome is that they seek to solve this through signings in January. “A lot will happen,” says Freund of that winter window. In the meantime, the visit to Old Trafford feels like a big moment for Bayern Munich as well as Manchester United.