Are players getting restless on the bench at Bayern Munich?

According to a report from Sport1’s Kerry Hau, the pains of having a big roster might be starting to reach Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann.

After Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League, several players were rumored to be at least somewhat perturbed about their roles — or lack thereof:

Two goals, three points: It was a perfect start to the Champions League for FC Bayern. However, there was only a limited amount of celebration in the catacombs of the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium after the 2-0 win at Inter Milan. Several players left a less happy impression when leaving the stadium.

Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala, for example, trudged towards the bus without a word after their brief appearances, as did the newcomers Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui, who were not used at all. Only one of the reservists stopped briefly to comment - meaningfully.

As we learned in Friday’s edition of the Daily Schmankerl, Leon Goretzka has already spoken out about wanting to start, so — if this report is true — Nagelsmann’s honeymoon with this roster could be nearing an end. From this point, the boss might have to strategize how to keep his boys happy:

According to SPORT1 information, several players are already dissatisfied with their roles and are pushing for more playing time internally. The coaching team and those responsible remain relaxed, the tenor: The season is long and everyone will get enough appearances.

Nevertheless, the question arises: Can Nagelsmann manage the squad? Even in his first season at Bayern there was criticism of the way he communicated personnel decisions - even from established forces who were used to the empathetic and approachable manner of Nagelsmann’s predecessor Hansi Flick.

For his part, Nagelsmann probably won’t be doing any proactive outreach to give his players warning that they’ll be on the bench:

Nagelsmann himself reported before the game on Wednesday evening at Inter that he rarely sought individual talks with the reservists immediately before or after the announcement of his line-up. His justification: Usually, that leads to nothing, those ones tune out anyways.

Whatever the case, with so much talent and only a finite amount of playing time, Nagelsmann will have tough calls to make over the entirety of the season.