After the 0:5 in Mönchengladbach, those involved at FC Bayern struggled to find the right words. Thomas Müller, on the other hand, came up with a completely new one.
Hasan Salihamidzic and Thomas Müller have never played together. Nevertheless, looking back on their Bayern days, they agreed. “Not even at the time I played” had he experienced anything like he did on Wednesday night, sporting director Salihamidzic found in the “Sky” interview. And Müller, after all a Bayern professional for around 13 years, said: “I’ve never had a situation like that either.” Even more: “I have never experienced such a collective failure in such an important game.”
Never in its history had FC Bayern lost so heavily in the DFB Cup, and the last time a competitive match ended more clearly in the opponent’s favour was in 1978. “I’m shocked,” Salihamidzic said on ARD – and kept emphasising: “It’s inexplicable to me.” The sideshows such as Lucas Hernandez’s court date and the vaccination debate surrounding Joshua Kimmich “maybe you have a little bit in your head,” Salihamidzic said, “but we have also dealt with that in the last games. “
Toppmöller explains why Bayern did not change at half-time
The sporting director also said that co-trainer Dino Toppmöller, who was replacing Julian Nagelsmann on the touchline for the third time, was not to blame. Together with his boss, Toppmöller had decided not to make any changes – neither in terms of personnel nor tactics – at half-time, despite an indisputable first half. Reason: “We didn’t want to change anything because it wasn’t a question of the system, but we had a pitch-black day,” Toppmöller said at the press conference. “We have to put up with gloating and ridicule for the next one or two days.” He said there was “silence for a while” in the dressing room after the second consecutive second-round exit in the DFB Cup.
On the other hand, attacker Müller was not at a loss for words, even adding a neologism to his analysis of the game. “We didn’t find that point where the FC Bayern rage engine kicks in,” he said. “If we take Manu (Neuer, editor’s note) out, it was a catastrophic performance from everyone involved, you have to get that right first. You can question everything today and you’re always right. “
Warning on Goretzka
There was at least one piece of good news from Munich’s point of view after the debacle. The injury, because of which Leon Goretzka had to be substituted in the second round, does not seem to be too bad. “He took a blow with his stud on his Achilles tendon,” Toppmöller explained. “It was an open wound on the heel, but shouldn’t be anything too dramatic in view of Saturday.”
In three days’ time, Munich have the chance to make amends at Union Berlin.
