Julian Nagelsmann has backed Leroy Sane after hearing Bayern Munich fans boo the winger in their 3-2 win over Koln on Sunday.
Bayern bounced back from a 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach in their opening Bundesliga fixture of the 2021-22 campaign by picking up a hard-fought win against Koln at Allianz Arena.
Robert Lewandowski scored before Serge Gnabry hit a brace to give the hosts all three points, but it was not a happy afternoon for Sane, who was withdrawn at the interval after an underwhelming first-half performance.
What's been said?
Sane was whistled whenever he had the ball and a section of the home support applauded when he was replaced by Jamal Musiala at the start of the second period.
Nagelsmann has condemned the actions of those that targeted the 25-year-old, but feels he has a strong enough character to put the incident behind him quickly.
"Overall, we didn't play a good game in the first half," the Bayern boss said post-match. "I noticed the whistles. It's only right that our own fans support the players.
"There's not a player in the world who doesn't like to put in a top performance. But we don't have to discuss everything internally that happens in the stands.
"It wouldn't make sense for Leroy to be demotivated now. Let's move on."
Nagelsmann went on to praise teenage midfielder Musiala, who made an instant impact after coming on by setting up Lewandowski for the opening goal of the game.
"Jamal has played an outstanding game offensively," he said. "His one against one qualities are well known, and he showed them again today."
Sane's struggles at Bayern
Sane completed a long-awaited €60 million (£51m/$70m) move to Bayern from Manchester City in July 2020, having initially seen the transfer delayed by a year due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.
Unfortunately, the Germany international has since struggled to live up to that hefty price tag, despite helping the Bundesliga giants pick up a ninth successive league title.
Sane has only recorded 10 goals and 12 assists in 47 appearances for Bayern to date, and has yet to nail down a role as a regular starter while continuing to be plagued by niggling fitness issues.