Four observations from Bayern’s stunning 5-0 loss to Gladbach in the DFB-Pokal

Borussia Mönchengladbach run rampant

FC Bayern Munich just looked...tired and out of sorts. Down 3 goals to nil within the first 21 minutes, Bayern looked like they lacked any clear path or tactic forward for a goal. Given the third goal was a penalty, I wont go too much into it. The first two, however, were open play goals where Bayern was just clearly beaten. All of the steam Julian Nagelsmann had built up for this team had completely evaporated within 20 minutes. While Bayern technically had both more shots and more shots on goal, most of them came after being down 3-0. The urgency was there, but as they pushed up, they left holes in the back that Gladbach easily exploited. Once they hit that 5-0 mark, Gladbach seemed content to sit back knowing that not only had they won, they blew Bayern Munich out of the water.

As twitter put it so aptly, yikes:

Bayern Munich’s midfield has a day to forget

This was not some random, backup-laden lineup that was put out by Munich. This was the best of the best. It’s without a doubt their strongest starting XI, including the midfield trio of Thomas Müller, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzta. Was it a coincidental off-day for all three? I doubt so, that would be abysmal luck. Something must have been off. While Kimmich had his own individual moments of grace, he, overall, had a game to forget.

Furthermore, Bayern’s defense was about as hole-y as Swiss cheese. Wave, after wave, they just let Gladbach dictate the pace of the game. While Bayern was able to push forward often, they lacked a lethality to their attack and left themselves open to fast Gladbach counters. By the conclusion of the first half, Bayern had somewhat stabilized their structure but the damage was already done.

As bad as the midfield was, the defense? Yikes!

Dayot Upamecano.....what on earth? He just got absolutely bullied all game. While Upamecano has been our best defender, on his off days, he is bad. And I mean Bad. Lucas Hernandez was equally horrible from the get-go, never quite getting his footing. From the start they never had an answer to the Gladbach attack. Breel Embolo and Ramy Bensebaïnieach were able to earn themselves a brace against this Bayern defense that looked nothing like the elite unit we’ve seen in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League this year. While it is too early to have concerns over Nagelsmann, it is worth noting that this was not just a 3-1, 3-2 type loss, but an absolute 5-0 blowout that is usually reserved for Bayern’s opposition. Manuel Neuer also had an off day considering some of the goals should’ve been stopped by him, at least at first glance. I am unwilling to pit the blame on Neuer, however.

As you can see by the Sofascore for this match, with the exception of Serge Gnabry and Joshua Kimmich, the rest of the Bayern squad got horrendous ratings. No one on the defense earned higher than a 6.5, while the rest of the team averaged below a 7.0. So, your eyes were not lying to you, Bayern was truly abysmal this evening. Any hopes of a treble were squashed because of the defense playing like they belonged in the 2. Liga.

https://www.sofascore.com/bayern-munchen-borussia-mgladbach/Cabsxdb

Bayern’s night summed up in six seconds

Well, here you go.