BFW Commentary: A loss at Bayern Munich? No reason to panic

Bayern Munich’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt could be described a few different ways:

• Wasteful? Sure. Bayern Munich had an insane number of shots (20!), but only came away with one measly goal. On a normal day, Bayern Munich’s players bury at least three or four of those. Playing against an extremely motivated Kevin Trapp didn’t help either. Die Alder’s goalkeeper wanted to prove he should have been selected to the German national team.
• Disappointing? Yes. Bayern Munich seemed to lack that final bit of focus needed to ward off a decent team. Eintracht Frankfurt might not be as strong as it was in the past, but it has enough gamers on the roster — including the estimable Filip Kostic — to make life hell for any team.

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• Concerning? No, not a chance. While we all would love to believe that the big, red juggernaut can just steamroll right through the Bundesliga...the league remains, uh, pretty good. You can’t take a day off. You can’t lose focus for a moment. Perhaps that is what happened against Eintracht Frankfurt, but given the squad’s mentality, it would be downright shocking if this team had more than two or three “off matches” under Julian Nagelsmann this season.

This Bayern Munich squad is uniquely driven and motivated to perform. There is serious competition at many positions and the roster has responded very positively to Nagelsmann. The biggest, reasonable critique that one can levy against the coach is that he has been reluctant to rest many of his integral players — even as they are racking up a lot of early wear-and-tear in what could be a very long season if the team continues to play up to its potential. The Champions League is certainly within the squad’s grasp if it can stay healthy enough to take on the top-tier competition that is surely coming down the line.

Let downs will happen, but it is how a team responds that helps determine how great it can truly be. Unfortunately, we are in the midst of another international break, so we’ll have to wait a bit longer to see if the Bavarians can bonce back with authority or if they scuffle to regain their collective form.