FC Bayern is not really gaining momentum after the World Cup winter break. Two draws in two games are not enough for the record champions' claims. There are also annoying side scenes. Serge Gnabry, who will only sit on the bench after a turbulent week, is romping on one.
The trip to a fashion fair in Paris, which was severely criticized by Bayern Munich's sports director Hasan Salihamidzic, has sporting consequences for national soccer player Serge Gnabry. The 27-year-old attacker will not be in the starting lineup in the Bundesliga top game of the first round on Saturday (6.30 p.m. on Sky and in the ntv.de live ticker) in Munich against pursuer Eintracht Frankfurt. In addition, Leon Goretzka is absent from the German champions at the start of the second half of the season in midfield due to muscular problems, as coach Julian Nagelsmann announced.
After Gnabry's private trip to Paris on the free Sunday, Nagelsmann responded by demanding a good performance from the midfielder in the next game. However, Gnabry did not bring this in the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln two days later. "He had the chance to show a reaction. He wasn't outstanding against Cologne," said Nagelsmann. Nagelsmann emphasized that replacing Gnabry at the break had only sporting reasons. Substitute Kingsley Coman, on the other hand, "did it well" and will therefore also start against Frankfurt. Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch is to play alongside Joshua Kimmich for the ailing Goretzka.
After two games without a win, Nagelsmann now wants to celebrate the first success of 2023 with his team. "The mood is the same as it always is at Bayern when you don't win. It's not extremely calm, but it's not super happy either. We know that we can do things better, we have to do better and we will do better." Nagelsmann expects one hundred percent commitment over 90 minutes against strong Frankfurters to get back on the road to success: "A run, a flow doesn't just happen."
