Explaining the inexplicable: Muller gives credit to the third-tier side who sensationally knocked out Bayern

Bayern endured a significant embarrassment just before their Bundesliga match against Dortmund. They didn't perform well in Saarbrucken and even disappointed their fans after the game.

Until the 16th minute, everything seemed fine in the 2nd round of the DFB-Pokal. Thomas Muller scored a goal for Bayern, making it 1-0 against the third-tier opponents Saarbrucken. However, the hosts fought hard, caused mistakes, and managed to score two goals against Thomas Tuchel's team. This was a major upset, and Muller's expression changed from a smile to disappointment.

"You can find many reasons in 90 minutes. There are many situations that you can do better during losses. All in all, we must congratulate Saarbrucken - and of course, a bit of luck is always involved. But we simply weren't clever, especially with the first goal. And then you concede a counter-attack in the 96th minute. Before that, we missed chances where it was very close to scoring. Of course, we were dominant in the second half, but I don't know. it must have been meant to be."

The legendary forward recognized that if a third-division team like Saarbrucken defeats Bayern, then he and his teammates have probably done many things wrong. He acknowledged the challenges, including an imperfect pitch, and expressed frustration over conceding a late goal. The 20-time DFB-Pokal winners have been regularly eliminated from the cup at an early stage in recent years. More precisely, since the Treble win under Hansi Flick in 2020, Bayern have been eliminated in a penalty shootout in Kiel (2nd round), historically with a 0-5 defeat in Gladbach (2nd round), against Freiburg in the Allianz Arena (quarterfinals), and now against the 3. Bundesliga team from Saarbrucken in the second round.

"I think this is the third or fourth time in a row now. That's not our standard."

Bayern defeated by the third-league club in the German Cup

This loss was the first against a team from below the top two divisions in 23 years of cup games. Muller could understand the frustration of Bayern's travelling fans, mainly because only a few of his teammates joined him in talking to the fans after the game. The 34-year-old star emphasized the importance of respecting the fans who support them. He acknowledged that fans aren't just about the result and respect.

"Fans are, logically, not just about the result, the game. In football, you can lose a game as well. But what is not okay is that only three or four players went after the final whistle to show respect to the supporters. These guys travel hundreds of kilometres up to the away game during the week so they could support us. The least we as players should do is to understand them, salute them, to give something back."

Bayern are proving very unpredictable this year. Let's see which Bayern will turn up in Dortmund at the weekend!