According to German magazine Kicker, a Bayern player was furious with the team's performance when Stuttgart scored a 2-2 equalizer in stoppage time. Even this player affirmed that "a lot of things must be reconsidered" after this draw at the Allianz home ground. This is Bayern's third consecutive winless game in the Bundesliga, following a 1-1 draw with Moenchengladbach and a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin.
Bild newspaper then said that not only one, but many Bayern first team stars were disgruntled. These people argue that they do not deserve to be blamed for the recent poor results, and that Nagelsmann must "take some responsibility, question his tactics and self-criticism".
This group of players was also surprised when the German coach did not mention his mistakes but only "poured all the blame on the players" after the Stuttgart draw. This match, Nagelsmann rotated when leaving Sadio Mane, Lucas Hernandez, Marcel Sabitzer and Leroy Sane as substitutes.
On September 11, Sports Director Hasan Salihamidzic admitted that Nagelsmann had not yet found the best way to communicate with the players. The German coach is only 35 years old, three years older than Thomas Muller and even younger than Manuel Neuer - the 36-year-old captain goalkeeper.
"Nagelsmann has never led a squad like this before," Salihamidzic told Sport1. "Nagelsmann talks to the players a lot and does it on an equal basis with the whole team. Of course, he talks to the pillars more. It's a learning process."
Contrary to the situation at Bayern, Barca is sublimating when maintaining an unbeaten circuit and second in La Liga with 10 points. Last weekend, they crushed Cadiz 4-0 to run perfect momentum for the trip to Bayern. Robert Lewandowski - former Bayern striker - started to flourish when he became a player who reached the milestone of six goals in five La Liga matches and scored a hat-trick in the opening match of the Champions League against Viktoria Plzen 5-1.
Before joining Barca in the summer of 2022, Lewandowski played for Bayern for 8 years, scoring 344 goals in 375 matches. He and the Bavarian giants won 8 Bundesliga, three National Cups, five German Super Cups, one Champions League, one European Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
According to Bild, Bayern players understand that preventing Lewandowski from scoring is a very difficult task. Leon Goretzka and Manuel Neuer hailed Lewandowski as a top-class striker who knows the Polish player's abilities well through their years together. But Neuer warned his former team-mate: "Lewandowski also understands that it is not easy to play at Bayern".
Meanwhile, Marcel Sabitzer said: "A game like this requires a little trickery and tactical fouls. Bayern have good defenders, and we have to play strong, limit the space."
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