Thomas Muller has decided to stop taking penalties for Bayern Munich after his latest miss from 12 yards against Augsburg on Wednesday.
The Germany international had already withdrawn himself from spot-kick duties for his country after missing one at Euro 2016, but now, after five failures at club level since August 2015, Bayern will also have to look elsewhere.
Muller expressed his frustration following the midweek DFB-Pokal miss, although it would not prove costly as the Bundesliga champions ran out 3-1 winners.
“[The misses] are very annoying and they bother me,” he was quoted by Bild.
“I will focus on the football matches in the future instead and my colleagues can take the penalties.”
Despite scoring 20 league goals last season, Muller has yet to get off the mark in the top-flight this term, and head coach Carlo Ancelotti weighed in on the penalty debate on Friday – insisting he had no issue with the 27- year-old’s miss.
“Normally, [Robert] Lewandowski is our first penalty taker,” the Italian told a news conference. “Muller has been good in the past, but there is no problem.
“We have many players who can take them – for example: Arjen Robben or Arturo Vidal.”
Muller also struggled in front of goal at the Euros, returning from Germany’s run to the semi-finals without having scored.
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