Daily Schmankerl: Thomas Müller tackles “difficult” question on rotations at Bayern Munich; Robin Gosens says Bayern overran Inter Milan; Robert Lewandowski appreciates FC Barcelona reception; Real Madrid to shun Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe; and MORE!

Müller acknowledges “difficulty” with rotation situation at Bayern (Welt via @iMiaSanMia)

Bayern Munich star Thomas Müller can see his team is mired in a slump, but can also see the tough choices that manager Julian Nagelsmann has to work with game-to-game regarding his player rotations.

Specifically, Müller talked over what the reality is when it comes to being rotated out of the lineup.

“We want to create a situation where the coach is spoiled for choice. Distributing playing time is a completely normal process with our squad quality. I think the question if it would be okay for me is difficult,” Müller said. “Every player here, including me, simply has to accept the coach’s decisions in the interests of the team. However, I don’t want to see anyone here who wants to be benched. It’s about optimally filling the respective roles in every game in order to be successful together — and the coach picks the lineup.”

The old conundrum of how much talent is too much talent, remains. Right now, some key injuries have limited the amount of players who have had to sit out. However, that has not prevented some players from feeling the heat — including Leon Goretzka and Ryan Gravenberch if you believe recent reports.

Nagelsmann will continue to have to make burdensome choices on personnel, hoping to push the right buttons and get the right combinations together. So far, the team only has one loss, but the results are mixed.

Even with a recent vote of confidence from CEO Oliver Kahn, things will not get easier for Nagelsmann.

Gosens says Bayern overran Inter (kicker via @iMiaSanMia)

Germany called Inter Milan star Robin Gosens into camp and the 28-year-old detailed exactly what happened when his club team ran into Bayern Munich a couple of weeks back in the Champions League.

“When we played against Bayern, we all sat in the dressing room after the game and thought: ‘Wow, what an intensity they have in the game!’ — that’s the absolute top level in Europe,” Gosens said. “They took us by surprise, overran us and showed twice the intensity as we did.”

That is an interesting perspective, especially when considering Bayern Munich’s recent form. It does show that Bayern Munich’s quality is there...it just needs to rear its head more often.

Lewy talks great reception from Barca faithful (Przeglad Sportowy via Barca Universal)

Former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski is ecstatic with the reception he has received in Catalonia (attempted robbery by TikTokers aside).

“The transfer to Barcelona has given me a boost, increased self-esteem, I feel proud and fulfilled. I knew that I had to decide about the results of the matches and I was not afraid of this role,” said Lewandowski. “I feel proud, but I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly that the fans at Camp Nou would start singing songs about me so soon. It all made me feel as if I had been in Barcelona longer than I am. Everything fits in time beautifully.”

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — FC Augsburg 1-0 Bayern Munich (Bavarian Football Works)

After three consecutive draws in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich squared off with FC Augsburg in hopes of finally nailing down three points.

Getting that much-needed league victory, however, would once again prove to be a difficult task as Bayern Munich dropped a 1-0 decision to FC Augsburg in an effort that was simply not good enough.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A rundown of the scoring.
• How impressive FC Augsburg’s energy and desire were throughout the match.
• Rafał Gikiewicz entered into Yann Sommer mode.
• Mergim Berisha’s goal and how it was the product of FC Augsburg’s energy and desire as Bayern lacked both in trying to prevent it.
• Some talk about what is missing from Bayern Munich at the moment, including the inefficiency of the squad’s attack.
• Where we go from here — this is not the way to enter into the international break.

Madrid won’t pursue Haaland, Mbappe in future (ESPN)

After being rejected by both Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe this summer, Real Madrid has — allegedly — decided to shun pursuing the players at any point in the future:

Marca reports that Real Madrid will have no future interest in either Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland after the two strikers rejected a move to the Bernabeu in the summer.

Mbappe, 23, was expected to sign for Los Blancos when his contract expired in July, but the France international made a late U-turn and penned a new deal at Paris Saint-Germain.

Haaland, meanwhile, had the pick of every major club across Europe due to the €60m clause which enabled him to move on from Borussia Dortmund. The 22-year-old chose to sign for Manchester City.

Marca says that Mbappe will never again be offered the same financial terms, and that the player opted for money over the sporting challenge. And even though Haaland has future clauses to allow him to leave City for a low fee, Madrid will not re-enter a race to sign him.

This seems laughable. If either player wanted to make the move to Madrid, it is certain that the club’s coffers would immediately open up.

Diaby drawing big clubs’ interest once again (@Transfersdotcom)

Bayer Leverkusen attacker Moussa Diaby is reportedly drawing interest from Chelsea FC, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, and Newcastle United:

This is not the first time that big clubs have come calling for Diaby. How much do they value the 23-year-old remains to be seen, however.

Barca to part ways with Pique? (ESPN)

FC Barcelona is reportedly looking to part way with club legend Gerard Pique:

Barcelona are looking to part ways with Gerard Pique as they continue to manage their financial situation, understands Sport.

The 35-year-old centre-back is reported to have claimed that he has no intentions of retiring from Barcelona as a substitute, and having made just one appearance in LaLiga this season, the Blaugrana are hopeful that they can reach an agreement with their highest-earner that would see him leave the Camp Nou.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast — Season 2, Episode 11 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich will soon set off for an international break, but there is a ton to talk about. We had some mini-controversies emerge this week, plus a HUGE Champions League win over FC Barcelona as the big happenings, but there was plenty more to discuss as well.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• Checking on where we think Bayern Munich stands entering the final week of the Bundesliga before the international break.
• Germany’s latest round of call-ups.
• Re-upping Benjamin Pavard and Alexander Nübel might not be easy.
• Why Bayern Munich could really have something in Paul Wanner and Arijon Ibrahimović — and what that could mean moving forward.
• Some Bayern Munich players probably are unhappy, but it’s fine for now.
• House of the Dragon got icky.