Kovacs urges blundering Bayern to go back to basics

MUNICH — Bayern Munich must keep it simple if it is to regain its dominant early-season form after the team was held to a 1-1 draw at home by an inexperienced Ajax side in the Champions League on Tuesday, coach Niko Kovacs said.

“We must go back to the basics, get stuck into the duels, play fewer bad passes and let the ball flow,” the Croatian demanded, pointing to Ajax as an example to follow.

“Our opponent showed us how to do it. Now we have to look to display our face again, which saw us to wins in the first seven games of the season.”

The draw means the usually consistent and dominant German champion has gone three games without a win after drawing with Augsburg and being beaten by Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga.

“It’s not what we imagined, that’s not what I personally imagined, and this was certainly not a good match for us,” Kovacs told reporters as he criticized the performance.

“We played negatively, our opponent was first to every second ball, we just played too many bad passes, we wanted too much, too fast in the build-up and so lose the ball and then confidence.”

Kovacs said the draw must ultimately be regarded as a “winning point”.

Bayern began its Champions League Group E campaign with a 2-0 win at Benfica and shares top spot with Ajax on four points. However, the Bavarians’ immediate concern is finding form when it hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern is second in the standings, one point behind leader Borussia Dortmund after six matches.

REUTERS Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho during his team’s 0-0 draw with Valencia on Tuesday.