Thomas Muller slams his teammates in rant after Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Highlights

Bayern Munich fell at the hands of a well-rehearsed Bayer Leverkusen side in a 3-0 loss which, in turn, has left the Bundesliga title race open. Thomas Tuchel’s side had the chance to leapfrog their opponents with a win at the BayArena, though their worrying performance left Thomas Muller seething, as seen in his post-match interview.

Led by the more than impressive Xabi Alonso, the 'outstanding candidate' for the Liverpool job according to Dean Jones, Josip Stanisic – on loan from Bayern – was left unmarked at the back post and opened the scoring against his parent club in the 18th minute. The 23-year-old latched onto a low-driven cross from Robert Andrich with the visiting side’s defence still asleep.

Alejandro Grimaldo then doubled the host’s lead five minutes into the second half after playing a cute one-two with former Burnley gem Nathan Tella. Bayern looked dejected, while Leverkusen seemed to be just getting started.

Any viable chance of Tuchel and his men getting anything from the all-intense affair came crashing down deep into second half stoppage time as Jeremie Frimpong – a 65th-minute substitute – bared down on an empty net thanks to Manuel Neuer going up for a corner. The Dutchman, with a sea of Bayern players around him, found the back of the net with a well-taken strike from distance with just seconds left to run on the clock, which now extends their lead at the top of the table to five points.

Muller: ‘I’m frustrated’

The club icon did not mince his words

If anyone knows what a privilege it is to play for the European heavyweights, it’s Muller. After emerging from the depths of the side’s youth set-up, the 126-cap Germany international has been a key player for the Bavarians for years now, chalking up 691 outings. In that time, he has registered an eye-catching 237 goals and 264 assists.

Speaking after their chastening loss to their title race rivals, Muller was very animated and criticised the ‘lack of courage’ from the players, all while highlighting his frustration as he insists that they – as a unit – tend to perform much braver on the training pitch. As reported by Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg, he said:

Ensuring that Tuchel didn’t get the blame for their missed opportunity against Leverkusen, the 34-year-old insisted that speaking among the players is the best port of call in such a situation. Thanks to having a squad brimming with fully-fledged internationals, the midfielder claimed that a lack of game intelligence was on show and insisted that his side ‘need to step up’.

Tuchel agrees with Muller

'We need to improve'

While Muller’s anger-fuelled comments had the opportunity to irk the Bayern players and fans alike, it was Tuchel of all people to speak out and agree with the seasoned ace. Starting off by saying that he is ‘not wrong’ in highlighting their shortcomings. The former Chelsea chief also praised Muller for his commendable standard, highlighting that the rest of his players need to watch and learn if they are serious about this campaign’s title charge. Per Plettenberg, Tuchel said:

Bayern had opportunities in the early embers to get ahead in what could be a season-defining game, though the German tactician claimed that, for all of their early dominance, they posed little to no threat. Tuchel also criticised Frenchman Sacha Boey for his lack of awareness during Leverkusen and Stanisic's opener, claiming that his speed was opted for to thwart the threat of Tella and Frimpong.

Bayern are now on the back foot in the Bundesliga title race – but, as always, are well-poised to achieve European top tier qualification. Next on the agenda for the club is the small matter of Lazio in the Champions League round of 16 before travelling to Vfl Bouchum in the league. Alonso’s outfit are still unbeaten in the league, having won 17 of their 21 games, and have fixtures against FC Heidenheim, Mainz and Koln to worry about next.