Lothar Matthäus anticipating rough days ahead for Bayern Munich

Four straight Bundesliga matches without a win is absolutely unacceptable for Bayern Munich’s standards — so much so that it hardly ever happens. The 1-0 loss to Augsburg just before the international break is the absolute last thing Julian Nagelsmann wanted, but he now finds himself in an increasingly difficult spot as Bayern’s runs of fixtures upon returning from international duty is rather tricky.

The Rekordmeister will face Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and SC Freiburg next in the league, with two Champions League matches against Viktoria Plzen in between the Dortmund and Freiburg games. It can quickly go from bad to even worse for Nagelsmann if he doesn’t get things right.

Lothar Matthäus can sense the unrest that’s in the air at the club, and reports have started to come out suggesting that some players feel Nagelsmann doesn’t place enough blame on himself for some of the dropped points Bayern have experienced. Nonetheless, the club is going through yet another rough patch, much like last season, and is in desperate need of points when the international break is over. Matthäus knows this is going to generate negative headlines in and around the club.

“This is not Bayern-like, there will be headlines, there will also be debates in the club,” the former Bayern and Die Mannschaft midfielder told Sky Sports after Bayern’s 1-0 loss to Augsburg (via Abendzeitung). The loss came at an increasingly inopportune time, too, as there has already been rumblings and musings of potential unrest in the dressing room. Leon Goretzka had voiced his frustration and not being able to start in the win over Barcelona in the Champions League, though he’s since said that some of his comments were taken slightly out of context with what he said about Nagelsmann and his decision making.

Photo by Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images

There have been unnamed players questioning Nagelsmann’s accountability for Bayern slip-ups, but it’s not always just up to him. The players have to be performing far better. Still, though, Matthäus knows that the loss to Augsburg and the underwhelming nature of the performance is only going to add fuel to the fire, so to speak. “There was already unrest before, it will not be quieter,” he remarked.

As it stands, sitting in 5th place in the table behind Union Berlin, Dortmund, SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim, Matthäus said that Bayern are “far behind expectations in the Bundesliga.” Even that might be putting it nicely. Things need to change fast next month during a tough run of matches.