Sport
Are Bayern in trouble as they wait for Mane to return?
When Sadio Mane came off injured in Bayern Munich’s final game before the World Cup against Werder Bremen in November, Senegal took a collective deep breath.
His knee problem was instantly played down, and he was included in the squad to travel to Qatar. As it turned out, though, that decision was born more out of hope than expectation that he would play some part in the tournament. Before it began, he was ruled out, and it has now emerged that he is likely to miss another couple of months with the injury.
Senegal probably did all they could with or without Mane in reaching the quarter finals; it doesn’t seem likely that they would have beaten England even had the 30-year-old been on top of his game. But it was a huge blow in an aesthetic sense. To many, Senegal were Africa’s best hope of impressing before the tournament, and missing their best player and leader, one of the planet’s elite, was a bitter blow. As it turned out, Morocco did more than anyone expected in reaching the semi finals. It was they who took the acclaim of a continent still waiting for its big moment on the World Cup stage.
And now the true reality of Mane’s injury is being realised. Bayern resume their season in a few weeks, meaning a good chunk of his recovery will have been completed without a match played, but that doesn’t mean Julian Nagelsmann won’t have problems at his door when everything gets going again. His reign has so far seen the club maintain their stranglehold on German football, winning the title every year since 2012. But that air of invincibility has dissipated to a degree; it is no longer a foregone conclusion that they will be champions every season, and this year is no different. They are four points clear of Freiburg, and it is not out of the question that Mane’s injury could cause the pendulum to swing in such a way that opens the door for a huge upset.
Borussia Dortmund have certainly picked a bad time to have a difficult season, sitting in sixth months after the sale of Erling Haaland to Manchester City.
But of course, Bayern have been through their own transition of sorts, involving Mane. He came in to fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski’s departure for Barcelona; without any sort of direct correlation in terms of their styles, that forced a change in approach from Nagelsmann tactically, and also means Mane tends to play a different role from the one he prefers. At Liverpool, he thrived as a narrow wide forward; while he still enjoys the flexibility and fluidity in attack at the Allianz Arena, it has forced him to adapt somewhat. He still has six goals and three assists in 14 Bundesliga, but there have been teething issues that have meant this season, as with all of his in charge, has not been straightforward for Nagelsmann.
This was supposed to be club/coach relationship that worked. Nagelsmann, the young darling of German coaching, still only 35, is a Bayern fan; he was earmarked for the role for so long. Bayern also knew they had to take a longer term approach to backing him, and there would be difficult times along the way. It has not been plain sailing at all, but slowly, things are changing and Nagelsmann is morphing a new side whilst maintaining the place at the top.
But with the likes of Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane struggling for regular goals this season, quite what happens until Mane returns is unknown. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been something of a surprise this season, scoring six goals in 10 games, meaning the spread of goals has been very equal around the squad. But he’ll have to pick up where he left off before the World Cup to cover for Mane; psychologically, his absence might prove more problematic than it will in terms of tactics or even stats.
Whether Bayern go into the market for a striker will be interesting. Because of the change in direction, there is no player in the profile of Lewandowski who can lead the line; there had been talk of Cristiano Ronaldo making the move to Bavaria, but it long felt as though that idea had been floated more from the player’s side. He has now joined Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
Bayern have lost just once in 15 games this season, and their goal difference is monstrous in comparison to all their rivals. It is incredibly unlikely that anyone can push them all the way, particularly a surprise package like Freiburg. But without Mane and everything going far from perfect for Nagelsmann, perhaps it can’t be fully ruled out.
