Bayern Munich face uncertain future after exit that wasn’t such a shock

It was a shock but also a logical end point, the surprise that you knew could be coming. Although a visibly stunned Thomas Müller insisted after full-time on Tuesday that “an [equalising] goal wasn’t in the air”, Samuel Chukwueze’s late goal for Villarreal that ousted Bayern Munich from the Champions League was a sucker punch via a predictable route.

Although on paper Bayern had breezed past Red Bull Salzburg in the last round, they had diced with danger – Kingsley Coman equalising late in the first leg after Salzburg had worn themselves out. Matthias Jaissle’s young team even had the better chances early in the Allianz Arena return before shooting themselves in the foot defensively. Unai Emery’s Villarreal had the experience and sang froid that the Austrian champions hadn’t. Domestically in recent weeks, Bayern have offered Borussia Dortmund routes back into the Bundesliga title race that Marco Rose’s side haven’t been good enough to take.

Part of the issue has been Julian Nagelsmann’s stubbornness. Bayern have played some undeniably fantastic football this season but they have often looked careless – and given the sheer recklessness of some of the team’s play under Hansi Flick, that’s saying something. It has felt for some time that they have been playing with one attacking midfielder too many, although that has been partly to do with the four-month absence of the recently returned Leon Goretzka, and Nagelsmann has not seen fit to change. “I’ve been asked the question 1,734 times in the last few weeks,” he said after a recent draw at Hoffenheim. When it mattered, his team were too easy to cut through, while lacking attacking fluency with Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry not in their best form.

Whether Nagelsmann has the