Kovac left to rue Bayern’s mistakes
BERLIN: Head coach Niko Kovac said individual mistakes are at the heart of Bayern Munich’s slump after they crashed to a 3-0 Bundesliga defeat at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach, leaving them fifth in the table.
After losing 2-0 at Hertha Berlin a week ago and drawing 1-1 at home to Ajax in the Champions League on Wednesday, Bayern are winless in their last four matches in all competitions.
The defending champions were 2-0 down against Gladbach after 16 minutes, leaking early goals to Alassane Plea and club captain Lars Stindl, before Patrick Herrmann added a l at e third on Saturday.
This is the first time Bayern have lost consecutive league games since May 2015, when t hey had already won the Bundesliga title under ex-coach Pep Guardiola. Kovac is under pressure with Bayern now four points behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund and out of the Champions League places, which will displease chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and president Uli Hoeness.
“I had their support after the first seven games [when Bayern were undefeated], so I assume I still have it, but at the end, I am not the one who can answer that,” said Kovac.
“I have said a few words to the team, but that should stay in the dressing room. We are making too many individual mistakes.
“Everyone is trying, but at the moment we are not bringing it together on the pitch.”
Meanwhile substitute Paco Alcacer claimed a stunning hat-trick as his superb 96th-minute free-kick kept Dortmund top of the Bundesliga after a dramatic 4-3 win over Augsburg.