Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin 9:43 p.m., February 05, 2023, modified at 9:46 p.m., February 05, 2023

Agitated behind the scenes since the spectacular media outing of their injured captain Manuel Neuer, Bayern offered themselves a breath of fresh air in Wolfsburg (4-2) on Sunday.

A first victory in the Bundesliga in 2023 which allows him to keep the lead after 19 days but which does not remove the doubts present.

Nine days away from challenging Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes in the knockout stages of the Champions League, Bayern Munich are not at their best.

Doubly under pressure on Sunday, starting with the competition embodied by Union Berlin, provisional leader on Saturday evening after their victory against Mainz (2-1), and Borussia Dortmund, returned to equality after correcting Freiburg (5-1), the Bavarians obtained, in a sluggish way, their first victory of 2023 against Wolfsburg (4-2) ending with difficulty a series of three matches without a victory in the league.

But Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann had to deal with many absent players such as Dayot Upamecano, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting or Ryan Gravenberch, who were added to long-term injuries such as Manuel Neuer, Lucas Hernandez, Sadio Mané but also Noussair Mazraoui.

A busy infirmary a few days before the first leg against PSG in the Champions League.

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Internal tensions

And Bayern Munich also have to deal with tensions behind the scenes.

In recent days, unrest has been felt off the pitch, after Manuel Neuer's very strong criticism in two interviews with The Athletic and the Süddeutsche Zeitung of the club's management, after the dismissal of the goalkeeping coach and very close to the German goalkeeper, Toni Tapalovic, on January 24.

"It was a blow for me, when I was already on the ground. It's as if my heart had been ripped out," explained the German international goalkeeper (37 at the end of March), unavailable until the end of March. end of the season after a serious injury (fracture of the lower part of the right leg) during a ski outing on December 9.

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic blamed Neuer on Sunday for putting his personal interests above the interests of the club.

"As captain, I would have expected a different attitude from him," added the former Bayern player in the weekly Bild am Sonntag.

Before the meeting in Wolfsburg, coach Julian Nagelsmann told broadcaster DAZN: "I've said it many times before, he's the best goalkeeper in the world. I hope he comes back in shape, for the future, we'll see".