BERLIN —
Bayern Munich manager Julian
Nagelsmann has blamed a lack of energy for his side’s stuttering Bundesliga
form, bristling at suggestions the six-time Champions League winners are
missing departed striker Robert Lewandowski.
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After an explosive start to the season which saw
them score 20 goals in their opening four competitive matches, two consecutive
1–1 draws against Borussia Moenchengladbach and Union Berlin see Bayern occupy
an unfamiliar third spot in the table.
Bayern remain overwhelming favorites to win their
11th consecutive Bundesliga title this season, but the
Champions League remains
their true yardstick, after a disappointing quarterfinal exit to Villarreal
last season.
While Lewandowski’s replacement Sadio Mane has
scored three goals in five Bundesliga matches since arriving in the summer,
Nagelsmann said his side were lacking “energy” rather than the departed Pole
and drew both games despite a “proliferation” of chances.
“Against Gladbach we had 31 shots on goal — I think
that’s creative enough,” Nagelsmann said ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League
clash with Inter Milan.
“How many goals have we scored? (Our goal
difference) is plus 14, I think.”
‘Not awake in our heads’
Nagelsmann said his side
would be able to break down the defense of last year’s Serie A champions, Inter
provided they recaptured the energy they brought in the opening league matches.
“Our energy level needs to be the same as before,”
Nagelsmann said in reference to his team’s draw in the German capital.
“We were not 100 percent awake in our heads in
certain situations.”
While the departed Lewandowski, who has scored five
goals in four La Liga games since joining
Barcelona, topped the Bundesliga
scoring chart in six out of his eight seasons at the club, he also had a knack
of scoring crucial goals in close games to give Bayern narrow victories.
Mane, who had a track record of scoring big goals in
important matches for Liverpool including when his opening goal helped
eliminate Bayern in the Reds’ Champions League-winning season in 2018–19, has
so far only scored his goals in games when Munich has won by at least five goals.
Worryingly for Bayern, their opponents on Wednesday
are also known for employing similar defensive tactics to Gladbach and
Berlin.
“Inter play a bit differently (to Berlin),”
Nagelsmann said, keeping his cards close to his chest.
“There are similarities, but I won’t go into that
now otherwise they may do something different.”
‘They always play the same’
Former Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt, who played three seasons in
Serie A including Inter’s championship year, suggested the Nerazzurri may not
have as much tactical flexibility as his manager expects.
“Inter are a difficult opponent. They have a team
with a lot of experience and physically very strong players,” said de
Ligt.
“They always play the same way, in a 3–5–2 system.”
Domestically, Inter’s much vaunted defense has
failed to keep pace with its reputation this season, with the 19-time Serie A
winners having conceded eight goals in five games — the highest in the top 12
of the Italian tables.
Inter will welcome
Bayern to the San Siro after a
painful 3–2 defeat by bitter rivals and current Italian champions AC Milian,
which manager Simone Inzaghi blamed on “a half-hour blackout in which we
conceded twice”.
While Bayern have few injury woes, Inter will be
missing their talismanic striker Romelu Lukaku, who is out with a thigh injury.
Inzaghi, however, welcomed the challenge, promising
the three-times Champions League winners would showcase their European pedigree
on the big stage.
“It will be a very difficult game for which we will prepare
as best we can. We’re challenging one of the strongest teams in Europe, but
we’re Inter and we will play like (Inter).”
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