Bayern Munich winless in 2023 and searching for answers
Bayern Munich hasn't won a game yet this year.
The Bavarian powerhouse has seen its Bundesliga lead shrink from four points before the World Cup to just one since the league's return.
Three draws in three games — all 1‐1 — to Leipzig, Cologne, then Eintracht Frankfurt on Sat‐ urday, have prompted another round of introspection and piled the pressure on coach Ju‐ lian Nagelsmann ahead of the decisive stage of the season.
Bayern visits Mainz in the third round of the German Cup on Wednesday, two weeks be‐ fore the team's trip to Paris Saint‐Germain for the first leg of their Champions League knock‐ out clash.
Though it hadn't been ex‐ pected to make any further win‐ ter signings, Bayern was reportedly close Monday to tying up a surprise loan deal for Portugal left back João Cancelo from Manchester City. It would give Bayern more security in defense and an added attacking threat on the left.
It's not the first time Bayern has slumped this season — the 10‐time defending champions went four Bundesliga games without a win in September — but this time there's little room for error and less time to cor‐ rect them.
Bayern had two weeks off to regroup after the team's 1‐0 loss at Augsburg on Sept. 17. At the time, Nagelsmann was re‐ portedly summoned for inten‐ sive discussions with his superiors and he prepared a de‐ tailed analysis of the entire team. Kicker magazine reported that the players were amazed when Nagelsmann later pointed out their individual mistakes in personal consultations with each.
On Saturday, Nagelsmann complained that the players were making the same mistakes and a lack of confidence is play‐ ing a role. It's a vicious circle.
"When you don't win, confi‐ dence isn't so high," Nagels‐ mann said. "We can do a lot more to regain confidence. There are many things we could do better, and speeding up the game is a very important one."
Bayern struggled to create chances against Frankfurt, Cologne and Leipzig's well‐or‐ ganized defenses.
"We only play through the wings, hardly ever through the center," Nagelsmann said after the draw with Frankfurt.
After the draw against Cologne — also at home — Nagelsmann said off‐field distractions such as Serge Gnabry's criticized trip to Paris Fashion Week and in‐ juries to team captain Manuel Neuer and Senegal star Sadio Mané were just "excuses" for the team's poor form.
"We're all professionals, they want to win games," Nagels‐ mann said.
Before the league's extended winter break, Bayern had won 10 games straight across all competitions, including wins over Inter Milan and Barcelona in the Champions League.
"We're not getting our power on the field," Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said. "I'd rather we went through a difficult phase now than at the end of the season. But of course, there's a lot at stake now. We really have to step it up in Mainz."