Bayern Munich boss plenty worried ahead of Atletico Madrid tie

Having missed out on a chance to win the Bundesliga at the weekend, the number of problems for the German giants are piling up

As he prepares his side for the second leg of their Champions Leaguesemi-final clash with Atletico Madrid, Pep Guardiola has a growing number of headaches.

While taking on Diego Simeone’s side in itself is a handful, as seen in the first leg in Spain last week, the Catalan tactician’s recent failures in the competition have piled pressure on Bayern to turn things around at home.

Having already missed the chance to secure the Bundesliga title at the weekend in their draw with Borussia Monchengladbach, grumblings in the dressing room along with injury concerns have added to a growing list of issues.

Guardiola opted to make eight changes on Saturday, and he failed to get the reaction that he wanted from his second-string team as they fell short of picking up the three points that would have sealed the league title.

In another display that was considered slow, sluggish and short of their usual high standards, Guardiola’s side are nothing like the team that looked so intimidating earlier in the season.

They’ve now scored just 29 goals in the second round of league fixtures, compared to 46 in the opening 17 games of the campaign.

Bayern Munich's Polish forward Robert Lewandowski reacts at the end of the UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg football match Club Atletico de Madrid vs Bayern Munich at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid on April 27, 2016. Atletico won 1-0. / AFP PHOTO / CESAR MANSO

From Robert Lewandowski’s lack of goals to Mehdi Benatia’s reported discontent with the possible arrival of Mats Hummels in the summer, even the ever-reliable Thomas Muller was dropped to the bench in the first leg against Atleti.

Combined with the fact that Jerome Boateng, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are suffering with injury concerns, along with the loss of form of Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman, the Bayern squad is playing with heavy legs and look tired both mentally and physically.

The last thing Guardiola needs is for Simeone’s men to smell blood and finish the tie off, as although the Bundesliga title should still be theirs, the Spaniard’s failure in Europe will be a black mark on his tenure in Bavaria.

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