Bayern Munich deserved to lose against Hoffenheim, says Niko Kovac
Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovac was critical about his player’s application in the defeat against Hoffenheim.
The Bavarians go into the second international break on a negative note as they suffered their first defeat of the season against Hoffenheim. Bayern Munich dropped points in the Bundesliga for the third time in seven gameweeks.
Die Roten came into this game after a massive 7-2 win over Tottenham Hotspurs. They were massive favorites against Hoffenheim on Saturday, but sloppiness in midfield and defense, along with some crisp finishing from visitors led to this defeat.
Hoffenheim managed to survive Bayern’s attacks in the first half. Their aggressive approach at the start of the second half helped them to take the lead. Der Kraichgauer frustrated Bayern till the final quarter of the game when Robert Lewandowski scored the equalizer. Die Roten’s sloppiness in defense helped Hoffenheim to restore the lead.
Speaking to media (via Sport1) after the game, Kovac admitted that the result was fair for them as they didn’t put Hoffenheim under pressure in the second half. The Croatian also said that his team lacked determination during the game.
"“We did not manage to bring the good game of Tuesday back to the pitch, you can tell a lot, but the truth is in the field, the victory of Hoffenheim was not undeserved.”“The head controls a lot, we should have finished it better, there was no determination.”"
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Corentin Tolisso lost the ball in the dangerous area in the second half, which eventually led to the goal. The Frenchman committed a similar mistake against Tottenham Hotspurs. Kovac insists that such type of individual errors need to be rectified by playing a simple pass back to defense.
The second goal was also a result of sloppy surrender of possession in the midfield. Hoffenheim executed their gameplan to perfection by initiating swift counterattacks throughout the game. Spurs also managed to do that on Tuesday, but their finishing let them down.
Kovac has found the right balance in the attack. He needs to sort the defensive structure of the team as they concede a lot of chances. They might get away with this in most of the games, but against top sides, it will cost them dearly. The Croatian will be hoping that Lucas Hernandez and David Alaba return after the international break, allowing him to stick with a stable backline over a long run of games.
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Bayern Munich dropped to third place in the league table, trailing Borussia Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg. RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund remained behind Die Roten as they dropped points in their respective games. The Bavarians will resume Bundesliga in a fortnight against Augsburg.