Bayern Munich in crisis, 4 Bundesliga games without a win

Bayern's Thomas Mueller gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, Germany, on Sept. 17, 2022. (DPA via AP)
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Updated 22 September 2022
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Bayern Munich in crisis, 4 Bundesliga games without a win

  • It’s not the first time Bayern have endured a hangover before the annual Oktoberfest celebrations

BERLIN: Munich’s Oktoberfest is in full swing but Germany’s most successful soccer club is in no mood to party.

Bayern Munich are in crisis after four consecutive Bundesliga games without a win.

Doubt, uncertainty, disbelief — and anger. They’ve all been evident at the club since Bavarian rival Augsburg defeated Julian Nagelsmann’s star-studded team 1-0 on Saturday.

There was muted enthusiasm from the team and officials as they donned their traditional Bavarian outfits to visit the Oktoberfest on Sunday — smiles for the cameras, but little cheer.

The 10-time defending champions had started the season brilliantly, clocking 15 goals and conceding just one in their opening three games for the best start any team has ever made to the Bundesliga.

Then it stopped.

Bayern haven’t won since — being held to three consecutive draws by Borussia Monchengladbach, Union Berlin and Stuttgart — before Saturday’s shock also brought an end to Bayern’s league-record of scoring in 87 consecutive games. Leipzig was the last team to hold Bayern scoreless in the Bundesliga on Feb. 9, 2020.

“In the first three, four or five weeks we didn’t allow the opponents any chance,” Bayern midfielder Marcel Sabitzer said, “but then suddenly everything was gone.”

It’s not the first time Bayern have endured a hangover before the annual Oktoberfest celebrations. Niko Kovac’s team lost before festival visits in 2018 and 2019, while Carlo Ancelotti was fired shortly after the team’s 2017 visit. Pep Guardiola was the last Bayern coach to oversee a win right before the Oktoberfest in 2015.

The event did not take place last year or the year before due to the unpredictable development of COVID-19 infections and restrictions.

Nagelsmann, who had been expected to lead Bayern to more than “only” the Bundesliga in his second season in charge, appears stumped, struggling for answers amid his team’s slump.

“I need to think about everything, about myself, the situation, about everything,” a visibly peeved Nagelsmann said in the post-game press conference on Saturday.

Nagelsmann bristled when he was asked if the team missed Robert Lewandowski, who switched to Barcelona in the offseason and has continued his goal-scoring ways in Spain.

“It’s all the same what I say,” Nagelsmann said. “If I say ‘no,’ then everyone will say ‘he doesn’t know the problem,’ and if I say ‘yes,’ you’ll all write ‘he misses Lewandowski.’ The answer doesn’t matter.”

But it’s clear that Bayern has a problem converting chances. The team had 19 efforts at goal against Augsburg — two of those from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer — but in the end it was Neuer’s counterpart Rafał Gikiewicz who was celebrating several outstanding saves.

Bayern veteran Thomas Müller said he was “angry” after the third draw. After the fourth game without a win, he said, “we’re standing here stunned and devastated. It matches the weather, it’s getting darker.”

Sadio Mane is being criticized for the first time since joining from Liverpool. The Senegal star scored three goals in his first three Bundesliga appearances, but none since.

There has also been speculation about Nagelsmann’s future, with some linking former Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel with the club. Tuchel is available after he was fired by Chelsea earlier this month.

But both Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn and club president Herbert Hainer said they were backing Nagelsmann and were not even thinking of a change.

“We’re completely convinced by Julian Nagelsmann and our whole team,” Hainer told local newspapers Münchner Merkur and TZ. “The season has just started and we know we have the potential to achieve our big goals.”

While Bayern are struggling in the Bundesliga, the team’s Champions League campaign is off to a winning start after victories at Inter Milan and at home over Barcelona.

Inter defender Robin Gosens is surprised by Bayern’s domestic troubles.

“When we played against Bayern, we all sat in the dressing room after the game and thought: ‘Wow, what intensity they have in their game,’” Gosens said Monday after joining the rest of the Germany squad for upcoming internationals. “It’s already the absolute top level in Europe and in the world. They took us by surprise, overran us and showed twice the intensity we did.”

There were warning signs, however, in Bayern’s 2-0 win over Barcelona last week, when the visitors created more chances and were only caught out by quick-fire goals after the interval.

Then came the first loss of the season at modest Augsburg.

The international break is giving Bayern’s players and officials time to think about the situation. The next game, against Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sept. 30, will show whether that was beneficial or not.


Patriots reach Super Bowl in blizzard-hit 10-7 win over Broncos

Updated 26 January 2026
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Patriots reach Super Bowl in blizzard-hit 10-7 win over Broncos

LOS ANGELES, US: Quarterback Drake Maye led the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance since the glory days of predecessor Tom Brady with a blizzard-ravaged 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos Sunday.
In a low-scoring AFC Championship game played out in brutal conditions, Maye rushed for a first-half touchdown, and painstakingly drove the ball downfield after the break to set up a decisive field goal.
No further scoring was possible in the 21 degrees F  storm, with the Patriots’ white uniforms barely visible as players slipped and slid across the snow.
“We battled the elements,” said Maye.
“These conditions, it’s not great throwing the football. But hey, we do what we need to do... We’re off to the Super Bowl. Let’s go!“
The Patriots will play either the Los Angeles Rams or the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on February 8.
The win cements a remarkable resurgence for the Patriots.
After the dominant era of the Brady dynasty that yielded six Super Bowl titles, New England have endured a painful rebuild, going 3-14 in both the previous two seasons.
But under new head coach Mike Vrabel they were a revelation this season, winning 17 games so far and topping the tough AFC East for the first time since 2019.

‘Costly’

Prior to kickoff, all eyes were on the Broncos’ perennial backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who had not thrown a pass in competitive football for two years.
The 29-year-old was thrust into the spotlight when Broncos’ first-choice Bo Nix broke his ankle in the dying moments of last weekend’s victory over the Buffalo Bills.
An understandably nervy Stidham was swiftly and repeatedly blitzed by the Patriots, throwing a wild incomplete pass on an opening drive that ended with a punt.
Moments later his epic 54-yard hurl to Marvin Mims Jr paid off spectacularly, caught deep downfield. Stidham then found Courtland Sutton for the opening TD.
Stidham grew in confidence as the first half progressed, without adding to the lead. The Broncos declined a straightforward field goal attempt at 4th&1 on New England’s 14-yard line, and gave up a turnover on downs.
Then disaster struck, as Stidham fumbled on the Broncos’ 14-yard line for a turnover. Maye, who had been struggling badly, rushed for a touchdown and a 7-7 half-time score.
The fumble would prove “costly,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton admitted after the game.

‘Sick’

The dense snowstorm descended on Denver at the break, making passing difficult and forcing both teams to rely on their run games.
An attritional 18-play drive lasting nearly 10 minutes led to a field goal and slender lead for New England.
The conditions became almost comically treacherous, with multiple players slipping and sliding on nearly every barely-visible play.
Both sides missed multiple field goals in swirling cross-winds, including one blocked by Patriots tackle Leonard Taylor’s fingertips.
With the two-minute warning looming, Stidham attempted a hugely risky 30-yard pass and gave away an interception that proved vital in whiteout conditions.
“It was good at first, and then snow started coming down, wind blowing, I couldn’t see,” said defensive tackle Milton Williams.
“I’m coughing. I’m probably sick right now. But none of that matters. All that matters is that we won the game and we’re going to the Bowl.”
The Patriots, who already boasted the most Super Bowl appearances with 11, will now have their twelfth showing on American football’s biggest stage, and a chance to vie for a record seventh Lombardi trophy.
Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls playing alongside Brady for the Patriots, would be the first person to win the sport’s ultimate prize as a player and coach for the same franchise.
“I won’t win it — it’ll be the players that will win the game, I promise you,” said Vrabel.