Bayern Munich fail to beat bottom club Freiburg

Posted on February 20, 2012 by SoccerPunter

Bayern Munich‘s director of sport Christian Nerlinger admitted he was “mystified” by his team’s first-half performance in the goalless draw at bottom side Freiburg which saw them slip to third in the German Bundesliga.

Even Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said Bayern’s performance in the opening 45 minutes was “sluggish” as the Bavarian giants came off second best to a spirited Freiburg team who are threatened with relegation.

The draw leaves Bayern four points behind leaders Borussia Dortmund with Monchengladbach second and Nerlinger admits the title race is currently out of their hands.

“I’m mystified by this performance,” admitted Nerlinger.”The first half in particular has left me very pensive. It seemed as though a few of the players haven’t grasped what’s at stake.

“We lacked basics like aggression, attitude and work-rate. If you compare the two teams in terms of individual class, it’s a game Bayern should have won. Obviously, we’ve not lost the title yet, but it’s no longer in our own hands.”

With Freiburg in the thick of the relegation battle, the hosts fought and chased every ball and they showed far more desire than Bayern, who are at FC Basel on Wednesday in the Champions League Round of 16 first-leg tie.

“We were sluggish in the first half,” admitted Heynckes. “We obviously thought we’d succeed with pretty football.

“What we should have done is resist energetically, we should have matched their approach, picked up the pace, but we didn’t do that until the second half, when we applied pressure and made a few chances.

“That’s what you have to do for 90 minutes against a team fighting for their lives.

“In terms of the table, it’s two points dropped. The teams at the top are very stable, so normally, you can’t allow yourselves the kind of lapse we’ve suffered here.”