The four players letting Bayern Munich down this season

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Bayern Munich are the defending champions of the Bundesliga and have won the past six league titles in Germany.

But this season, something is not quite right at the club. Under new management with Niko Kovac coming in to replace Jupp Heynckes, Bayern are currently fifth in the Bundesliga after 11 games, losing three, just one fewer than they did in 34 matches last season.

In the Champions League, the Bavarians are unbeaten with three wins and one draw from their four matches and only a monumental disaster would prevent them from reaching the knock-out rounds. But, again, the German champions have not looked themselves at times despite their good standing, struggling to break down an AEK Athens team they would have been expected to put to the sword when the draw was first made.

The problem, however, doesn’t seem to be solely down to Kovac’s management style and the board apparently have the same mindset, sticking with their new man when other clubs like Real Madrid have pulled the trigger.

So that means some players must be to blame for Bayern’s poor start, with bad performances costing the German champions.

But who are these players? Read on to find out which four players we feel are letting Kovac down most this season.

Manuel Neuer

Bundesliga appearances: 11 (11 starts)

Key stat: Of the 18 goalkeepers to have played at least 5 Bundesliga games, Manuel Neuer ranks 17th for saves per goal (0.86).

Manuel Neuer was once an extraordinary goalkeeper.

But the German has struggled with injuries in recent years and is yet to find the form which made him one of the best goalkeepers in the world. And it is hurting Bayern Munich, and Germany.

No longer can Neuer be relied upon to stop the difficult shots which fans had become so used to seeing him do. But it’s also the simpler saves which Neuer is failing to deal with too.

Yet he is still Bayern and Germany’s No.1 goalkeeper based on the reputation he has built for himself despite there certainly being better options for Joachim Low.

Comparing to his last busy season with Bayern Munich, in 2016/17 before injuries halted his career, Neuer is not performing on a similar level.

In 2016/17, Neuer averaged 1.9 saves per 90 minutes the Bundesliga but this season that has dropped to 1.1 per 90 including 0.5 inside the penalty area. But that could just mean he is facing fewer shots.

The killer difference comes in saves per goals conceded and goals conceded per game. Playing 26 times in the Bundesliga in 2016/17, Neuer conceded just 13 goals averaging 0.5 per game and conceded more than one goal on just one occasion. The German also averaged an impressive 3.92 saves per goal conceded.

However, this season, Neuer has conceded 14 goals in 11 games at an average of 1.27 per game and just 0.86 saves per goal conceded.

Franck Ribery

Appearances: 9 (5 starts)

Key stat: Franck Ribery has failed to be directly involved in a goal in 961 minutes across all competitions this season.

Franck Ribery has been a great player for Bayern Munich in his 11-year spell at the German club, but the 35-year-old looks like he is losing his magic.

In the team partly on reputation and partly on lack of squad depth in the wide position, Ribery has been largely ineffective for Bayern this season compared to last year which many had expected to be his last. And maybe it should have been.

Ribery may have recorded just one assist in the Bundesliga last season, but the Frenchman created more chances for his team-mates, averaging 2.5 per 90 minutes compared to 1.6 in the current campaign.

The midfielder has also lost possession more this season, being dispossessed at an average of 3.7 times per 90, while in 2016/17 his average was just 1.6.

Ribery is, however, taking more shots this season averaging 2.2 per 90 compared to 1.5, but the Frenchman is yet to score and has not netted in his past 11 games in the Bundesliga.

Though Ribery was one of the more impressive Bayern players in their 3-2 defeat to Dortmund, the Frenchman did not truly test Lukasz Piszczek on the left and waned as the game went on allowing more freedom down his flank defensively.

And then, post-match, Ribery hit headlines for the wrong reasons after an altercation with a French journalist following his analysis of Bayern’s defeat.

Bayern president Uli Hoeness has already revealed the club will undergo a big upheaval next summer, and Ribery may be one of the names leaving.

Mats Hummels

Appearances: 6 (6 starts)

Key stat: Mats Hummels is one of five Bayern Munich players to make a defensive error in the Bundesliga this season.

Mats Hummels was not a bad defender and had been an impressive part of the Bayern defence which dominated Germany over the past few years.

But the centre-back’s performances have declined especially since the start of the World Cup, where he was a weak point in a poor Germany team which went out at the group stages as defending champions.

Then, Hummels was just a small part of a big problem and his mistakes were looked on as a general German failing rather than targeted analysis of the centre-back. This, despite Germany earning their sole win in the one game Hummels did not play.

But now Hummels has carried over his poor form to Bayern Munich and it is seriously hurting the Bundesliga champions.

It hit its peak in Bayern’s 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, which saw Kovac’s side fall seven points behind the current Bundesliga leaders.

Hummels did not directly contribute to a Dortmund goal by way of a mistake, though he was fortunate as he twice allowed Marco Reus and Paco Alcacer chances on goal through poor defending but was not punished.

The defender was later hooked with 25 minutes remaining as Kovac tried to tighten up at the back, but would blame his poor performance on playing with a cold.

Whether that is true or not, the German is just not up to speed this season, averaging just one tackle per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga so far, compared to 2.5 last year.

Hummels has also averaged fewer clearances this season at 1.6 per 90 compared to 2.3 in 2017/18 and fewer blocks with one per 90 now to 1.4 last year.

Thomas Muller

Appearances: 10 (8 starts)

Key stat: Thomas Muller has failed to score or provide an assist for Bayern Munich in his last 739 minutes of play in all competitions – a run stretching back to September 1st.

Thomas Muller seems to have hot and cold seasons with Bayern Munich and unfortunately for Kovac, this year is one of his cooler ones.

Muller hasn’t been the greatest goalscorer since managing 20 in the 2015/16 Bundesliga season, but the German is hardly testing opposition goalkeepers, not reaching double figures in the past three domestic campaigns.

Last season, Muller averaged 1.9 shots per 90 minutes and has posted a similarly low 1.8 per 90 so far in the current campaign. And the lack of attempts has transferred to a lack of goals with just 0.4 per 90 last season and 0.3 per 90 this year.

However, in recent years Muller has made his most telling contribution to Bayern with his chance creating and assists but it just isn’t coming off for the German this season.

Recording 14 assists last season, Muller averaged 0.6 assists per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga but has seen that drop to 0.3 this season. And this appears to be due to a lower amount of chances created for his team-mates, with 1.7 per 90 this season compared to 2.7 last year.

Against Dortmund at the weekend, the German was barely noticeable managing 47 touches in 82 minutes on the pitch – the second lowest of any outfield Bayern player to still be on the pitch at the time of his substitution. The lowest was Robert Lewandowski who had 32 in 90 minutes but scored two goals in his short time on the ball.

The post The four players letting Bayern Munich down this season appeared first on Squawka News.



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