Munich has a picture postcard feel about it at this time of year as the wooden stalls of the Christmas markets, dusted with the first winter snow, hem in the city’s ancient landmarks.
Locals and tourists alike get merry on Glühwein while the whiff of roasted chestnuts and the sound of carol-singing fills the frosty air.
But it’s not all sweetness and light at the city’s most famous football club right now. There will be little festive cheer at Bayern Munich so long as they sit seventh in the Bundesliga table.
Bayern Munich’s players look dejected following their 2-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach
Saturday’s result left Thomas Muller and Co an unthinkable seventh in the Bundesliga table
Bayern are seven points off leaders Gladbach in an unpredictable Bundesliga title race
You almost have to rub your eyes in disbelief to see the champions of the past seven German football seasons so low in the rankings at this time of year, so far removed from the summit.
Bayern round off their Champions League group stage with a home fixture against Jose Mourinho and his resurgent Tottenham Hotspur side on Wednesday night.
But with qualification as group winners already assured, most thoughts will have already turned to this Saturday’s home fixture against Werder Bremen.
For many years, such home fixtures were a guaranteed three points but this season nothing has been assured for the 29-time champions of Germany.
They’ve already lost to Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen at the Allianz Arena but it was Saturday’s late defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach that really caused damage.
Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham will fancy their chances of beating Bayern Munich on Wednesday
Bayern celebrate their 7-2 thrashing of Spurs in London, the highlight of their season so far
But such a stunning result is unlikely to be repeated at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night
Both Bayern and Tottenham have already secured qualification to the last-16 in Europe
That result moved Gladbach, who have emerged as unexpected title challengers, seven points ahead of Bayern and sparked wild celebrations among their fans at the BORUSSIA-PARK.
They are just about allowing themselves to believe, like supporters of various other Bundesliga clubs, that Bayern’s Empire may just be starting to crumble.
Context is needed – Bayern were nine points adrift of leaders Borussia Dortmund at this point last season and still reeled them in.
But there is a genuine feeling of unpredictability about this season’s Bundesliga race – with Gladbach, Dortmund and RB Leipzig all looking like realistic title winners – that makes Bayern vulnerable.
The origins of this turbulent first half of the season – domestically at least – can be found in pre-season when Bayern seemed to lack their usual ruthless efficiency in transfer dealings.
While deals for defensive reinforcements Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez had been in place for months, it wasn’t until the eve of the season that Bayern managed to land other targets.
Monchengladbach players celebrate their late victory over Bayern on Saturday afternoon
Another defeat piled the pressure on Bayern’s interim head coach Hans-Dieter Flick
Their move for Manchester City’s Leroy Sane fell through when he suffered an ACL injury in the Community Shield and they had little choice but to resort to other options to replace the departed veterans Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
Ivan Perisic came in from Inter Milan and Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, both on loan, in mid-August and therefore without a pre-season to get used to Bayern’s ways of playing.
Then there were the doubts over manager Niko Kovac, despite the former Croatia international delivering a Double of Bundesliga and German Cup in his first season in charge.
Dortmund had come within a couple of points of stealing Bayern’s crowd in the league, while they’d exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage to Liverpool. By Bayern’s standards, it was a pass for Kovac. Just about.
But while Bayern cruised through their Champions League group, thrashing Spurs 7-2 in London, they dropped too many points at home.
Niko Kovac paid the price for poor results in the Bundesliga during the opening weeks
A 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt back in November proved the end for Kovac
(Left to right) Benjamin Pavard, Serge Gnabry, Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandowski reflect on their heavy loss to Frankfurt
Kovac, having survived a few close shaves, was finally sacked on November 3 in the wake of a 5-1 humiliation at Eintracht Frankfurt. The fact Bayern had to play 81 minutes with 10 men elicited little sympathy from the board.
It had looked as though Hansi Flick, appointed on an interim basis, had steadied the ship when Bayern crushed Dortmund 4-0 on November 9.
But any suggestion that normal service had resumed were dashed by back-to-back losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Monchengladbach that leave Bayern well off the pace.
Few consider Flick a long-term solution, especially with Mauricio Pochettino on the market and a managerial merry-go-round underway in Europe, so the foundations are currently lacking.
Upheaval behind the scenes hasn’t helped either. The influential Uli Hoeness stepped down from his position as club president at the AGM last month, ending 49 years of daily involvement with the club.
Bayern bid farewell to president Uli Honess before their last home game against Leverkusen
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic is set to step up to the club’s executive board
Hoeness has been succeeded by Herbert Hainer, the former CEO of Adidas and deputy chairman of Bayern’s supervisory board.
Hasan Salihamidzic will move up from his role as sporting director to join the executive board and the hope is everything will settle down a little off the field.
But a combination of poor results and changes in the staff and hierarchy have created a more fundamental problem.
Club legend Lothar Matthaus said this week that Bayern’s rivals have ‘lost their fear and awe’ of Germany’s most successful team.
‘Even if teams fall behind, they still believe they can win, and some even manage to do so. This was extremely rare in the past,’ he said.
The tactics of Kovac were frequently questioned in his final few weeks and now observers are doing the same with Flick.
Robert Lewandowski is in excellent form, with 27 goals in 22 matches so far this season
The performances of Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barcelona, have also been a positive
Mattheus called him out for playing the slow Thomas Muller on the right wing and for picking Joshua Kimmich instead of Pavard at right-back, the implication being it was a conservative line-up for such an important game.
Not that Bayern played badly – they created lots of chances but conceded two silly goals. On their day this season, they have looked as devastating as ever.
Striker Robert Lewandowski is in the form of his life, with 27 goals in 22 games across all competitions so far this season, suggesting service to the front line isn’t lacking.
Coutinho has performed well in the German league while Serge Gnabry and young Alphonso Davies have caught the eye.
But as long as Bayern continue to lose matches they were once absolute certainties to win, their rivals will sniff an opportunity to knock them off their throne.