No need to panic, Eintracht Frankfurt were just perfect – Inside Europe on Bayern Munich’s shock defeat

“The defeat is particularly painful because it was avoidable.”

That was the response from Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann after he watched his team lose 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.

It was the first time Bayern had lost at home since November 2019, and to find the last time Frankfurt beat Bayern in Munich you have to go back to the start of the millennium.

Bayern still lead the Bundesliga but they now have to share top spot with Bayer Leverkusen. After them Borussia Dortmund and surprise package Freiburg both sit just one point behind.

So perhaps it’s not panic stations yet but still it is always noteworthy when Bayern lose, such is their incredible dominance of domestic German football. To get a better idea of the situation in Munich we got in contact with our colleague from Eurosport Germany, Dennis Melzer. Here are our questions and his response.

I am of the opinion that you have to classify the game soberly and realistically. Bayern played as dominantly (especially in the first 30 minutes) yesterday as in the past few weeks. Frankfurt barely managed to hold the ball for several seconds and barely got over the halfway line. Normally, this game would have been finished with Bayern winning 3-1 or 4-1.

Three things mainly contributed to Bayern losing yesterday.

Firstly, not taking chances: Bayern created enough chances, but (unlike in the last few weeks) simply did not take them. Above all else, Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp had an incredible day (10 saves, which was his personal career record).

Secondly, Upamecano had a bad day: When Frankfurt were dangerous, from Bayern's point of view, Dayot Upamecano was mostly involved. For both goals conceded, the Frenchman stood too far away from his opponent, and he was also responsible for the corner kick which resulted in the first Frankfurt goal. Upamecano has played really well in the past few weeks, so his performance yesterday can be described as a 'slip' that happens in football.

Nagelsmann said of him after the game: "Kostic made it difficult for Upamecano today. But he has played a lot of good games since he arrived. Today he had a weaker one. That happens."

Finally Frankfurt had a clever system. Of course, the opponent was not entirely uninvolved in the fact that Bayern lost. Besides Trapp, the rest of the defensive players also did a really good job. Coach Oliver Glasner sent his team out into a 3-5-2 on paper, but Frankfurt defended with a five-man chain on the pitch. Frankfurt was very well organized on the defensive - and relied on the counterattack on the offensive, because Bayern's defence normally defends very high. The 2-1 result came out of exactly such a situation.

At Frankfurt everything came together perfectly yesterday - not so for Bayern. That's the way it is in football sometimes.

Frankfurt not only lost manager Adi Hütter (to Borussia Monchengladbach), but also their top scorer from last season in André Silva (to RB Leipzig). Silva scored 28 Bundesliga goals in 2020/21. Such a player is obviously difficult to replace. Fredi Bobic, who was the sporting director of Eintracht for many years and who had a very good knack for smart transfers, has also left the club. So there was a little upheaval with a new coach and sports director who needed a certain amount of time.

From my point of view, this question can be answered very quickly: Just a bump in the road. As I explained above, several factors came together yesterday. If these had not come together, Bayern would have won the game confidently. I don't think there is any danger that Bayern will be set back. The team seems too solid for that - and the team simply has too much experience and quality for that.

Nagelsmann will not deviate from his tactics. Normally they would have been successful if Bayern had taken the chances to score. Basically, he managed to remedy a weakness of the team under Hansi Flick (too many goals conceded after counterattacks). Bayern's game has become even more complete. The defeat will not be a reason to reconsider.

Difficult to blame anyone specifically - I hope my first point explains the reasons well enough.