Fatigue, injuries take their toll on Bayern
Bayern Munich’s surprise 3-1 Champions League loss to Porto was the price the five-time European champions paid for a string of injuries and a tired squad that has not stopped playing, club boss Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
The Bavarians, chasing a treble of domestic and European titles, travelled with only 15 in-field players to Portugal for their quarter-final first leg leaving injured Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger and David Alaba, among others, behind.
“I am not prepared to criticise the team,” Bayern CEO Rummenigge said in postmidnight banquet. “There are 13 or 14 players who are at the moment healthy and have been playing three times a week.” Bayern have been cruising towards the Bundesliga title with a 10-point advantage as the injuries seem to hardly affect them domestically.
Tired side
“But there comes a day when you are a little bit tired, when your legs feel heavy and when you lack some of your concentration,” Rummenigge said.
A lack of concentration certainly contributed to the three goals they conceded, each coming from an individual defensive mistake.
“We imagined it differently,” said keeper Manuel Neuer. “We were not confident and did not create scoring chances. The other problem was the mistakes we made. You are punished in the Champions League for those. We know we messed up together but we have to keep going.”