Bayern need basic approach to rediscover form - Kovacs

Bayern Munich must keep it simple if they are to regain their dominant early season form after they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by an inexperienced Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League on Tuesday, coach Niko Kovacs said. “We must go back to the basics, get stuck into the duels, play fewer bad passes and let the ball flow,” the Croat demanded, pointing to Ajax as an example to follow.

“Our opponent showed us how to do it. Now we have to look to display our face again, which saw us to wins in the first seven games of the season.” The draw means the usually consistent and dominant German champions have gone three games without a win after being held by Augsburg and beaten by Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga. “It’s not what we imagined, that’s not what I personally imagined, and this was certainly not a good match for us,” Kovac told reporters as he criticised the performance. “We played negatively, our opponent was first to every second ball, we just played too many bad passes, we wanted too much, too fast in the buildup and so lose the ball and then confidence.”

Kovacs said the draw must ultimately be regarded as a “winning point”. Bayern began their Champions League Group E campaign with a 2-0 away win over Benfica and share top spot with Ajax on four points, but their immediate concern is finding form when they host Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday.