Bayern Munich stay winless in 2023

It's been 16 years since Bayern Munich went the first three league games of a new year without a win. Another 1-1 draw, this time at home to Frankfurt, leaves Bayern just one point clear of Union Berlin at the top of the Bundesliga table.

It's a story any time Bayern Munich don't win, and in the first month of this year the club has delivered much more than headlines around disappointing football.

Manuel Neuer's skiing injury and Thomas Müller's role were hot topics before a ball was kicked. Then Serge Gnabry went on a fashion trip to Paris on his day off and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic labeled it "amateurish," and just last week the departure of legendary goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic reportedly surprised many in the team.

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann delivered a calm front after Saturday's draw, saying the slump is less about off-field drama influencing performance and more because of the approach not being delivered on the field.

"When you don't win, you don't have the same confidence as if you had won. There are lots of things we can do better and that we often talk about, one of which is speed of play," a clearly irritated Nagelsmann told Sky afterwards.

Watching the equalizer back, Nagelsmann was frustrated his side didn't play it through the middle enough and lamented the lack of pressure from his team for Frankfurt's counterattacking goal.

"There are worse things in life than this, but it's certainly not a good run of results," he said.

Killer instinct missing

Clearly, Bayern don't look Bayern-like at the moment. Without an early goal or that feeling of flow, Bayern have stuttered rather than swept through games.

Against Frankfurt, Leroy Sane's powerful goal inside the box should have been that moment but instead it proved little more than an exception rather than the rule. This team keeps leaving the door open, and so when Daichi Kamada came off the bench, it felt inevitable that Frankfurt would get a chance.

That Randal Kolo Muani, fresh off a stellar World Cup, would score the equalizer was telling. The striker, who has reportedly stirred interest across half of Europe's top clubs, reminded Bayern of the value of a clinical forward. The Frenchman's finely placed finish into the far corner came after he had left France teammate Dayot Upamecano in his wake. Kolo Muani finished the game with one shot, one goal and the most sprints (35) of all players on the field.

And yet, perspective is still required.

While the off-field issues are obviously less than ideal, they are not new to the club nicknamed "FC Hollywood." 

On the field, the performances are admittedly less astounding than normal but they have also played three in-form teams. Thomas Müller hailed Frankfurt "one of the best teams in Europe in the last few months."

Furthermore, it's worth noting that it's still January. Bayern lost two of their first five games in last season's restart and we all know how that season ended.

The noise whenever Bayern don't win is inevitable, but it remains too early to tell whether a real storm is brewing in Munich or whether the gathering clouds of the new year will pass, as they usually do, come spring.