Champions League exit: What's next for Bayern Munich?
Some with hands on their hips and others looking down in dismay at the hallowed turf of the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich’s catalogue of big-name players, nor Julian Nagelsmann and the thousands of adoring Bavarian fans in attendance for that matter, couldn’t quite believe that they had just been knocked out of the Champions League by Villarreal.
Indeed, Unai Emery’s side took a one-goal advantage to Germany after winning 1-0 with a plucky performance at the Estadio de la Cerámica. But there was always a sense that alone wouldn’t be enough for Villarreal to progress, and when Robert Lewandowski fired home shortly after half-time in the second leg, it seemed the momentum was now with the hosts.
The Bayern fans were now in full voice at the Allianz, urging their boys on to find a winner and book them their place in the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition. But Emery’s well-oiled Yellow Submarine were absorbing everything the Bundesliga champions had to throw at them, and with two minutes to spare, the home section of the Allianz fell silent.
Keeping shape in that familiar low block, almost every man behind the ball, Villarreal picked their time to counter perfectly. Veteran centre half Raúl Albiol headed away a hopeful ball into the box from deep, and off the Yellow Submarine sailed — Giovanni Lo Celso was found open in the middle of the park, he slid through Gerard Moreno and the Spaniard’s drilled ball across the front of goal was riffled home Samuel Chukwueze.
Of course, credit where it’s due for Villarreal — who are now 20/1 shots to win the big-eared trophy according to the online football betting. They had a clear gameplan to set up defensively, and it worked — even if they did only register two shots on target across the entirety of the two legs and 120 minutes of football.
But for Bayern, it is a sorry state of affairs. For the second year in a row, the six-time winners have been knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals, albeit losing to a much stronger Paris Saint-Germain team last year. It also asks questions of Nagelsmann. Yes, a 10th successive Bundesliga title is on its way to the Allianz, but that’s nothing more than expected.
It's been branded by many as the most embarrassing night in the Champions League for Bayern, but in hindsight, we probably shouldn’t be that surprised. You just need to look at some of the results under Nagelsmann this season to see that — like the disconcerting 4-2 defeat to Bochum, the 2-1 loss to Augsburg and the 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach.
The most concerning thing of all for the young German coach though, will be the future of some of his key players. Talks of Lewandowski joining Barcelona this summer hitting the headlines just days before the second leg against Villarreal probably didn’t do his side any favours, while Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer certainly aren’t getting any younger.
When you factor in that Serge Gnabry’s contract is wearing thin and Niklas Süle is joining rivals Borussia Dortmund for free, the list is only getting longer for Naglesmaan. Indeed, Bayern do have a higher managerial turnover than one might think as well, with Carlo Ancelotti, Jupp Heynckes, Niko Kovač and Hansi Flick not being given much time after Pep Guardiola’s departure in 2016.
However, with every great club, there comes a point where they need to go through rebuilding process. Nagelsmann has clearly been chosen by the club’s hierarchy to be the man to do that. There will be blips in the road along the way — some more major than others — but the 34-year-old’s job is safe.