That article asserts that a likely culprit for him playing poorly is fatigue, because he played most of our matches last year.

Pretty weak angle, there.
Also, he was benched last game, so Max is paying attention. Higuain needed to hit the bench, and if his form doesn't improve soon, he should be seeing a lot more of it.
Really too bad we missed on Schick, but hopefully Mandzukic brings his scoring boots when called upon.