Mats Hummels has taken a critical look at FC Bayern – and comes to a differentiated conclusion. The former international no longer sees the record champions at the same level as in the first half of the season and recognizes a phase of uncertainty
„I see them as more insecure right now. Until a few weeks ago, they would have been one of the top three favourites for the title for me,“ explained Hummels ahead of Borussia Dortmund’s play-off first leg against Atalanta Bergamo on Amazon Prime with a view to the Champions League. The performances in January and February in particular had given him pause for thought: „I’ve now seen a lot of games in recent weeks where they’ve really clearly let up.“
Vincent Kompany’s team have indeed suffered minor setbacks of late. In the Bundesliga, Munich suffered a 2-1 defeat at FC Augsburg and only managed a 2-2 draw at Hamburger SV. Even though they won all of their other competitive matches in the 2026 calendar year, Bayern looked less dominant at times than they had in the first half of the season
Personnel reasons as an explanation
Hummels also provided a possible explanation for the fluctuations in form: „There are now a lot of players who have just come back. Alphonso Davies, Jamal Musiala – who of course still have a bit of catching up to do. The others may have been a bit overplayed because they had to play everything.“
The heavy workload in several competitions could have left its mark
The 37-year-old is therefore confident that the record champions will find their top form again in time: „I can imagine that we’ll be talking about FC Bayern being one of the top three favorites again at the end of March.“
Bayern currently lead the Bundesliga with a six-point lead over Borussia Dortmund. In the Champions League phase, they finished second behind Arsenal FC. The starting position is still strong – but according to Hummels, the self-evidence from the autumn has recently been lost somewhat.
