Muller blasts Bayern team-mates after damaging Leverkusen defeat

Thomas Muller took aim at his Bayern Munich team-mates after the German champions suffered a damaging 3-0 away defeat to title rivals Bayer Leverkusen.

Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen are now five points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with strikes from Josip Stanisic, Alejandro Grimaldo and Jeremie Frimpong earning a deserved win at the BayArena.

Bayern were uninspiring throughout and second-half substitute Muller, 34, delivered some stern words about his side's lacklustre performance, which saw them lose for a third time in the league this season.

He told Sky Sports Germany: "There are of course some symptoms on the pitch. To be honest, I'm p***** off.

"To quote Oliver Kahn, 'What I miss from our players are the balls in the game'.

"We have a mentality in our game, especially with the ball.

"We are showing significantly better approaches in training. It's okay to feel pressure, but there needs to be energy and freedom. That's missing in our game.

"At Leverkusen, not every move is planned. They look for solutions, they are creative, and I expect the same from us. 

"We play from A to B, from B to C and nobody has the freedom to just gamble.

"It's there in training but not in the game."

Veteran forward Muller also took the opportunity to defend Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel, who has come under increasing pressure due to a string of unconvincing performances.

The 2014 World Cup winner added: "We had enough players of international calibre on the pitch, so we don't need to talk about the coach. 

"A lot has to do with game intelligence and independence on the pitch. 

"I expect players who are on the pitch to be able to handle pressure. We urgently need to improve, and we will."

Bayern will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Lazio next Wednesday for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with a trip to Bochum next up in the Bundesliga.