First against last - a greater drop is no longer possible for the badly weakening Bayern stars.
After the surprising 2: 4 disaster in Bochum and the almost flop in the 1: 1 in the Champions League against Red Bull Salzburg, the home game this Sunday (3.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) against the strengthened, but in the Bundesliga, the relegation candidates Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth, who are still behind, an explosiveness that was not considered possible a week ago.
Julian Nagelsmann gave his professionals a clear order on Friday: "In the end it's about delivering in the next few games!"
He left open whether he would change staff, but indicated it.
Serge Gnabry (muscular problems) and Kingsley Coman (calf) are injured.
After all: Jamal Musiala was tested after Corona.
Neuer, Goretzka and Davies are still out.
Two weeks after his knee surgery in rehabilitation, Neuer is fully on schedule.
"I feel very good.
Everything is going as planned - and I'm making good progress," said the goalkeeper in a fan Q&A session on Instagram.
The 35-year-old surprisingly had to have an operation on the inner meniscus of his right knee.
“In rehab, I usually train twice a day.
Before and after the sessions I still have treatments with the physiotherapists.
But when I'm healthy and fit, I only train once a day - even in my free time," said Neuer, who will probably be absent for up to four weeks from Bayern.
"must not tear us apart"
In the unequal test of strength of the Bundesliga Croesus with the low-budget promoted from Franconia, who improved significantly in the second half of the season, Lewandowski, Sané, Süle and Co. should "radiate Bayern Munich" again on the lawn of the arena, which is again filled with up to 25,000 spectators. as Nagelsmann demands.
The Munich are annoyed after a previous week to forget.
"The mood is appropriate for the fact that we didn't win twice," reported Nagelsmann.
But he doesn't want to dramatize the situation.
“It is important that you don’t knock everything into the pan.
We must not start tearing ourselves apart and moping about.
Everything was fine before Bochum,” he recalled.
There have never been two competitive games in a row without a win in Nagelsmann's short era in Munich.
This situation also challenges the coach.
"You worry a little more about getting back on track," he admitted.
In any case, the people of Fürth are ready to fight: "I'm not afraid.
It would be bad if we approached the game in Munich with fear," said coach Stefan Leitl: "I hope that we'll power out from the first minute."
The climber is no longer considered a sparring partner in 2022.
In five games, the Fürth have already scored more points (eight) than in the entire first half of the season (five).
And only one less than the big Bavarians.
Nagelsmann mentioned another statistical value: "In the second half of the season they allowed one less big chance than we did." And they also allowed one goal less than the Munich shaky defense.
After Salzburg, national player Joshua Kimmich called for improvements in two areas in particular: “We have to be better in the rest of the defence.
And we need more control of the game.” However, Nagelsmann “does not want to move away” from the offensive-risky orientation with high pressing.
The "flow" that Kimmich missed in the new year may also be due to the fact that the Munich players build up their form through a high rhythm of competition.
"In the last few weeks we've been waiting a bit.
I like it when there are a lot of appointments,” said Thomas Müller.
For Nagelsmann, that's definitely an approach: "The suspense isn't that extreme when there are five or six days between the games.
For footballers, playing is always nicer than training," he said.
In the end, however, everything is a question of mental state: "Football is generally a head game and is often decided in the head."