Bayern Munich can test squad depth after international break

A successful September was followed by a poor start to October for Bayern Munich. The German champions suffered the first defeat of the season on Sunday as Eintracht Frankfurt stunned them with a 2-1 defeat at Allianz Arena. Despite the defeat, Die Roten remains top of the points table, courtesy of better goal difference than Bayer Leverkusen.

Rekordmeister did a lot of things right in the first 30 minutes of the game. They were dominating Frankfurt and creating chances to open the scoring. Leon Goretzka eventually found the back of the net in the 29th minute after some clever footwork from Robert Lewandowski. However, Frankfurt responded immediately with an equalizer three minutes later.

The German Champions kept on piling pressure by forcing some big saves from Kevin Trapp, but eventually, Frankfurt scored the late winner to take home all three points. Die Roten did enough to score more goals, but they couldn’t find efficiency in front of the goal.

Apart from inefficiency in the final third, players also looked tired for Rekordmeister. After playing so many games during September, some of the key players in the starting XI did look jaded during the second half of the game on Sunday.

The international break comes at the right time for Julian Nagelsmann as he will be much well equipped to test the depth of the squad in two weeks’ time. Kingsley Coman and Corentin Tolisso are set to stay in Sabner Strasse to complete recovery from respective injuries. The French duo should be available for selection after the international break.

Meanwhile, the likes of Marc Roca, Nianzou Kouassi, Omar Richards, and Mickael Cuisance will also have two weeks to work with Nagelsmann and make a case of getting playing time after the break. The four young players are yet to get considerable playing time in the Bundesliga.

After the international break, Rekordmeister will have only Sven Ulreich on the sidelines due to serious injury. Nagelsmann will have a big squad available for selection, so he can test the entire squad depth and keep players fresh for every game.

If the German coach finds an efficient way of rotating senior players, then off days like the one against Frankfurt will become even rarer. Since 18 players from the first-team squad will be representing their countries during the international break, the rotation will be key to avoid injuries and keep players fresh for games in the second half of October.