Niko Kovac critical of complacent Bayern Munich
Coach rues errors against Hoffenheim as they slip to first defeat of the season
Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac conceded his stars struggled to come down from the euphoria of their midweek demolition of Tottenham Hotspur after suffering their first defeat of the season on Saturday.
Bayern crashed to a first home loss in the Bundesliga for almost a year with a 2-1 defeat by Hoffenheim, just four days after thrashing Tottenham 7-2 in the Champions League.
"Yes, it probably was," Kovac admitted when asked if the defeat was down to Bayern's mentality.
"The head controls a lot. We needed to be more energetic, especially in the first half. We should have played better, I expected more determination.
"We didn't give as good an account of ourselves as we did in London, now we have to digest and process this defeat. Hoffenheim's victory is not undeserved.
"We have two weeks now (during the international break) and hope everyone comes back healthy."
Hoffenheim deservedly took the lead after Corentin Tolisso lost possession to ex-Bayern midfielder Sebastian Rudy, who fed Armenia striker Sargis Adamyan to fire past Manuel Neuer on 54 minutes.
Robert Lewandowski equalised on 73 minutes with a towering header - his 11th goal of the season.
The Poland star has scored in each of the first seven league games this season and struck 15 times in all competitions.
However, Adamyan, who cost 1.5 million euros (S$2.3m) from second-division Jahn Regensburg in May and was playing regional football two years ago, fired through the legs of defender Jerome Boateng, as he had also done for the first goal, to seal the surprise win 11 minutes from time.
"We gave the ball away easily twice and that led to two goals against us," said Kovac. "If you make two mistakes, you will be punished in the Bundesliga."
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said the defeat served as "a warning you get nothing for free".
The Bavarian giants dropped to third spot after Borussia Moenchengladbach trounced Augsburg 5-1 last night to go into the international break top of the table with 16 points.
Wolfsburg moved up to second, one point behind, after a 1-0 win over Union Berlin last night. Bayern are a further point adrift, along with Freiburg, RB Leipzig, Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen. - AFP
SELECTED RESULTS:
Bayer Leverkusen 1 RB Leipzig 1, Freiburg 2 Borussia Dortmund 2, Borussia M'gladbach 5 Augsburg 1
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