Niko Kovac urges Bayern Munich to stop making “cheap mistakes”
Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac has urged his players to eradicate their defensive mistakes despite the win over Hertha Berlin.
There was an instant response from Bayern Munich after suffering a defeat against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend. Die Roten bounced back on Wednesday with a narrow 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin in the DFB Pokal. The Bavarians were the better team against their hosts, but some defensive errors made the match tougher than it should have been.
Bayern are struggling to maintain a compact defense right now, as was evident on Wednesday. Mats Hummels gifted the home side a late equalizer, sending the match into extra time. Speaking with the media after the match (via Fox Sports), Niko Kovac urged his players to eradicate their cheap defensive mistakes. The Croatian praised his players for getting the win, but he was dissatisfied by their overall performance.
"“We have to turn off our mistakes.“We make too many cheap mistakes. If we do not always concede two or three goals, we also win our games easier.”"
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The defending champions have been struggling to keep clean sheets this season. They have thrown away games in the Bundesliga that they were coasting through at one point.
Kovac used to rotate his defense every game, so the back four was not getting a decent run to get the coordination right. It was not a huge surprise that Bayern’s best run in the league came in December when Kovac used the same lineup nearly every game. Even without heavy rotation, though, the back line struggles to keep out goals.
Bayern are planning to address their defensive problems in the summer. Both Hummels and Jerome Boateng are currently on a steady decline, and it would not be a huge surprise if Bayern decide to sell one or both of the defenders over the summer.
Die Roten will be tested heavily in the upcoming weeks. They will be punished harshly if they continue to make poor mistakes at the back. Kovac will be hoping that Manuel Neuer returns before Bayern’s clash against Liverpool in just under two weeks. The German traveled to Berlin, but he sat out of the game as he continues to recover from a minor thumb injury.
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Offensively, Bayern were solid against Hertha Berlin. This was especially true for Serge Gnabry, who was Bayern’s best player. Kovac was impressed with Gnabry’s overall game and praised him separately in his press conference. The Bavarians now switch their attention to Bundesliga, where they’ll host Schalke over the weekend. They can hardly afford to drop any more points as they chase league leaders Borussia Dortmund.