Bayern still searching for early-season form

The Bayern players trudged from the field at the Bruchweg stadium in Mainz on Saturday afternoon visibly frustrated and with their heads down. Following a narrow 2-1 defeat to the promoted home side in the third league game of the new season, the nation’s most successful club were left looking for a first win of term, after the highly promising form of the pre-season period again eluded Louis van Gaal’s side.

“There’s not a lot to analyse. Two points from three games is an unsatisfactory situation,” a dismayed Karl-Heinz Rummenigge reflected after the final whistle, the cheers of the majority in the 20,300 sell-out crowd still ringing around the ground. The FCB chairman made no attempt to downplay the significance of the defeat. “The situation we’re in now is dangerous. We’ll take it seriously, because we need to get out of it quickly.”