Bayern bemoan 'disappointing conversion rate' at Augsburg

FC Bayern fans had recovered from the frustration of the previous day on Sunday morning. The day after the disappointing 2-2 draw at FC Augsburg, 1,100 supporters of the German record champions attended the open training session at Säbener Straße, collecting selfies and autographs, and helping to somewhat improve the mood of the FCB players.  

Bayern had to cope with two setbacks on Saturday. In addition to the dropped points and the missed chance to go top of the Bundesliga, the serious injury suffered by Niklas Süle weighs heavy. "I wish him every strength," said David Alaba, before the torn cruciate was diagnosed, to the central defender on behalf of the whole team.

Record run for Lewandowski

The Reds found the right response to the early setback at Augsburg: When Süle had to leave the pitch on 12 minutes, FCA were already 1-0 up after an early strike from Marco Richter in the first minute. Robert Lewandowski then hit back to level from a cross by Serge Gnabry and again go down in the record books: The Pole has scored in all of the first eight matches and thereby equals the Bundesliga record of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set in 2015/16. The Niko Kovač team were now in control and deservedly took the lead through Gnabry on 49 minutes and there were also a large number of clear-cut chances to extend the lead. "We had a great game and controlled everything. In the end we had two cast-iron chances and the game would have been over if we’d scored one of them. We messed it up," bemoaned the scorer of the second FCB goal. Instead of another goal for the Reds, Bayern conceded the equaliser with a strike from Alfred Finnbogason in added time (90+ 1').

Stats speak for Bayern

"You have so many chances and miss so many that it's difficult to explain why," fumed Kovač after the final whistle. "It was our own fault today. We had to win that game," said Gnabry and Hasan Salihamidžić produced the stats to demonstrate the superiority of the visitors: "78 per cent possession, lots of great chances, 24 shots on goal. Those are top numbers." But, "the conversion rate disappointed us all," said the sporting director before adding, "we’ll have to work on that."

But there’s not much time for that. The FCB squad fly out to Athens on Monday morning ahead of the Champions League fixture at Olympiacos on Tuesday night. The skipper Manuel Neuer sees a positive in the change of scenery. “When you've given something away in games like that, it's always good to focus on new targets." According to Neuer, the "frustration" of the Augsburg game will quickly be forgotten – FCB recently proved their shooting ability in the Champions League with the 7-2 win at Tottenham Hotspur.