FC Bayern Munich: The Holders Are Being Outgunned By Mainz and Dortmund

Bayern has officially started the season in worst shape than ever before; the holders are in twelfth position after seven matches and three points above the relegation play-off spot. There was no visit by the Bayern stars to the Oktober fest as Van Gaal wanted his men to train.

Dortmund 2-0 Bayern

The changes that most Bayern supporters were desperate for came; but they came against a side brimming with quality and confidence. In all truth, even before the match, the line-up perhaps suggested that Bayern was going to lose this one. Daniel Pranjic played alongside Mark Van Bommel in defensive midfield, Edson Braafheid at left-back, Bastian Schweinsteiger in the hole behind the striker and Mario Gomez up front. Gomez missed three good opportunities in the first half, but to his credit looked sharp and in the second half, took the ball wonderfully from crosses and passes but failed to find the back of the net.

He proved that a striker needs his team to function behind him; Bayern was the better side in the first half but was by far the second best in the next forty-five minutes. At halftime, Martin Demichelis came on for the injured Daniel Van Buyten.

After sixty minutes of action, Edson Braafheid was replaced by Ivica Olic. By then, the Bavarian side was already two goals down. A Kevin Grosskreutz ball caused chaos in the box and a Demichelis error saw the ball find itself to Lucas Barrios. Barrios' strike took a deflection but went in.

Nuri Sahin added a second with a beautiful free-kick. An attacking substitution was what was needed but Van Gaal allowed Miroslav Klose to rot on the bench as Gomez and Olic almost got in each other's way when presented with a wonderful opportunity to get one back at the death.Bastian Schweinsteiger came away with an injury from the game and will miss his country's qualifiers.

What is wrong with the table?

The Bundesliga table looks absolutely topsy-turvy at the moment. What is Mainz doing in first place and Hanover in third place ahead of the usual contenders Bremen, Leverkusen and Bayern? Will Schalke and Stuttgart actually get relegated? If the title was to be decided at this moment, the Royal Blues and the Swabians would be playing in the 2.Bundesliga.

Mainz and Dortmund deserve to be at the top. Mainz has played some awe-inspiring football and every single player is giving wonderful performances game in game out. Lewis Holtby, Andre Schuerrle, Adam Szalai, Sami Allagui, Marcel Risse- the names just roll off the tongue. These names are yet to drop a single point. Their continuous pressing has led to the opposition losing the ball easily. Dortmund on the other hand, didn't play awesome football against Bayern. However, they did what champions can only do: play an average game but come away with all three points. Dortmund was always a dark-horse coming into this season but is now truly a contender, not on one, but three fronts.

The World Cup is one excuse every Bayern supporter does not want to hear at this moment. There is also one more thing they don't want to hear: Mark Van Bommel's press conferences. The captain said that Bayern was the better side in every game they played despite being convincingly and easily outplayed by Dortmund in the second half. And somebody should really tell him that possession is not what counts; what you do with the possession is what counts.

It is time that the the three strikers are not blamed anymore. The midfield is horrid and perhaps Van Bommel needs some bench time, especially, after completely losing his head towards the end against Dortmund. Schweini played some good balls into the box but the balls always had a bit more velocity than required. Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller did not play well at all.

A team with depth shouldn't suffer like this; but Bayern is suffering thanks to Van Gaal's decision to have a small squad. Why is Andreas Ottl left on the sidelines?  Ottl might not have fixed all the problems in the team but he is one guy who has a point to prove and deserves a chance to do so.

Even without the duo of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, Bayern can win the league; but not if Van Gaal doesn't make a change in formation and sends some talented but tired big names to the bench for a while. (Philipp Lahm). However, Van Gaal cannot afford to do so only because he didn't sign any replacements. Lahm, in all honesty, doesn't have a true back-up at the club.

How Bayern will make up a 13 point gap between themselves and the leaders is beyond me. The Bavarians have a meagre eight points from seven matches. Dortmund is ten points ahead although a Champions League qualification spot is only five points away.

One thing is for sure though: if FC Bayern Muenchen lift the salad bowl at the end of May, even the most optimistic Bayern supporter will be shocked.