Are Bayern Munich really progressing under Julian Nagelsmann?

J ulian Nagelsmann might have imagined this stage of the season in many different guises when he resumed work after the World Cup. He almost certainly did not envisage this. His team will begin April with more games to shape the remainder of their campaign than they normally would at this stage, a legacy of the aforementioned break for the tournament in Qatar, but they will also make their way onto that road in an unfamiliar position of second place. Bayern Munich did not lose everything in Leverkusen, but any misapprehension under which they might have laboured under that this is a regular Bayern season is gone.

There were many remarkable aspects to the way in which this all unfolded; that Leverkusen showed considerably more nerve than their visitors in a 2-1 win and, also, that the home side’s Amine Adli was twice cautioned by Tobias Stieler for simulation before the referee twice re-examined his decision on the monitor, twice withdrew the card with a smile and a handshake and twice awarded a penalty, both converted by Exequiel Palacios (twice to Yann Sommer’s right, in case you wondered) to bring Die Werkself from behind and guide them home.

The main motivation for scrutiny, however, was Bayern themselves. They were unusually passive, flat and uninspired save a short burst just before the winner, during which Jamal Musiala came agonisingly close to giving his team the lead again with a typically lithe run down the flank and a shot which refused to creep into the corner. “That’s not what Bayern is about,” chided sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić after the game. “So little drive, mentality, assertiveness. I’ve seldom experienced that.” That Musiala, their main source of the sublime this season, was reported on