Complacency kills Bayern Munich as they slump to a surprise 2-0 loss against Hoffenheim

Mark Uth carried on with his inspirational start to life at Hoffenheim as his brace ensured Julian Nagelsmann’s men beat an uninspired Bayern Munich side 2-0.

Bayern Munich had a day to forget. Their action plan failed seemingly as they succumbed to a surprise loss against a high flying Hoffenheim side.

Carlo Ancelotti started with Thomas Muller on the right and it became quite apparent that Bayern lacked width on the right flank going forward. Kingsley Coman and Robert Lewandowski assumed the other two attacking positions, but the young Frenchman’s final deliveries in the box left a little to be desired for.

Die Roten began the game as clear favorites and were the better side in the opening exchanges. Appearing in his 400th game as a Bayern player, Thomas Muller nearly marked the landmark moment with an assist to Robert Lewandowski early on, but the Pole’s finish clipped off the cross bar.

While the men from Munich looked comfortable in possession, they did look fragile when not on the ball. Nagelsmann’s men executed a perfect plan to break down Bayern as they looked extremely dangerous on the break.

Their persistance — coupled with Nagelsmann’s tactical intelligence — finally paid off when Andrej Kramaric’s quick thinking from a throw in caught Mats Hummels and the rest of the Bavarians completely offguard.

Mats Hummels attempted a late clearance off the touchline near his own box but failed to keep the ball in. An agile Kramaric was quick in taking the following throw-in which found an incoming Mark Uth, who reacted swiftly and surged past a Bayern defense that had switched off for a moment. Before the Reds had the time to recover, the German made a clinical finish, beating Manuel Neuer on his near post in the 27th minute.

Bayern kept on pushing for an equaliser, and were presented with a free kick in a glorious position. However, Robert Lewandowski’s attempt sailed an inch-past the crossbar.

The hosts were in inspirational form as they nearly doubled their lead before half time. In the pursuit of a leveller, Carlo Ancelotti’s men comitted more men forward which left them barren at the back and Hoffeinheim’s Steven Zuber nearly exploited the space by sending in a low drive which was magnificently saved by Bayern’s number one.

Nagelsmann’s men continued to frustrate the hosts even after the restart. The visitors, for their part, looked completely out of touch and lacked the will to go forward and attack in numbers as a sense of complacency seemed to seep in every man dressed in red on the pitch.

And Bayern soon paid for their complacency when Mark Uth doubled his and his team’s tally in the 50th minute. Steven Zuber turned provider on this occassion as he made a surging run inside Bayern’s penalty area before squaring the ball back to an unmarked Mark Uth whose neat finish meant that Manuel Neuer had to pick the ball out of the net for a second time in the game.

In order to get themselves back in the game, Carlo Ancelotti first substituted Arjen Robben who came on for the highly ineffective Sebastian Rudy. However, the Dutchman was unable to give any sort of dynamism to Bayern’s predictable attack and the Italian was forced to bring on Franck Ribery and James Rodriguez in the 79th minute.

Rodriguez, who was making his Bundesliga debut for Bayern had an instant impact on the proceedings of the game. His flicked free kick towards Hoffenheim’s box was met by the head of a towering Javi Martinez, but Oliver Baumann came good to the goods as he made a brilliant save off the Spaniard’s header.

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There would be no chances for either side from there on and despite 5 minutes of added time, die Roten found it hard to break down a tactically solid Hoffenheim side. It ended as a surprise loss for the Bavarians against a young manager who now boasts of an unbeaten track record against them. With this loss, Bayern slipped down to the fifth position in the embryonic league table and Hoffenheim are tied with leaders Borussia Dortmund.