Bayern Munich: Five things Carlo Ancelotti must do for a successful season

Now entering the first international break, Bayern Munich are well into their new Bundesliga campaign. Here’s five things Carlo Ancelotti must do for this season to be a success.

1) Make Thomas Muller a mainstay in his starting XI

This one’s first because it is arguably the most important. Quite simply, if Bayern Munich are to be successful this season, Carlo Ancelotti must find a way to fit Thomas Muller into his first-choice starting XI. 

Last season, the Raumdeuter spent a serious amount of time on the bench, and rightfully so. 2016 was — in terms of form — possibly the worst year of his career. He could not take a penalty to save his life, his shots simply would not find the back of the net and the space he used to find with such ease seemingly disappeared.

As a result of this, Muller lost his confidence. It was visible nearly every moment he was on the pitch. Rather than taking slightly contested shots that would usually be sure-fire goals, he opted to attempt difficult passes that seldom worked out as planned. He cut his runs short and no longer looked to make himself a goal-scoring threat.

Fortunately, 2017 has been a different story. Ever since January, Thomas Muller has slowly been regaining his form. Despite his paltry goal tally, he finished the ’17-18 season as Die Roten’s top goal-creator, also landing the runner-up spot in the entire Bundesliga with 12 assists.

He carried his good form into this past pre-season, where he was easily his team’s most impressive player. While others looked bereft of ideas and a drive to execute them, Muller led the Bayern attack with aplomb. His chemistry with new signing James Rodriguez was simply brilliant, and he demonstrated both his ability to create and score goals on multiple occasions.

Yet somehow the only Bavarian left in Bayern’s first-team is still finding himself left out of the starting line-up. Dropped for this past weekend’s match, Muller expressed his frustration at being left out. He didn’t just express his desire to play with his words though. He backed it up with his on-field performance, helping to make the difference in the match after being subbed on.

Much of what Muller brings to the team is hard to put into words, but one of the most important aspects of his game is plain to see. When played centrally — either alongside or behind Robert Lewandowski — he has the ability to create space for both himself and others that simply wasn’t there before. Take for example Lewy’s second in this past weekend’s match.

Muller gets open and receives a long-ball from Mats Hummels, which he then plays to Lewandowski. Rather than simply waiting for the ball to be played back, Thomas then makes an incredibly intelligent run, pulling two defenders out of position and making way for Lewandowski to dribble straight through.

Sure, the Pole still had some work to do, but without Muller’s excellent thinking and unselfish play he wouldn’t have even had a chance. The duo play wonderfully well together, and Bayern should never enter a match without their pairing unless it’s because of fitness issues.

Fitting them both into the same formation, however, could cause a real headache for Carlo Ancelotti. Which leads to the next point…

2) Find a formation and play-style that works

For much of last season Bayern Munich were almost in a state of limbo when it came to their formation and style of play. Rather than reverting to a more direct play-style historically associated with the Bavarians, Ancelotti often deployed his squad in a 4-3-3 and sought to control possession Pep Guardiola-style.

This brought some serious issues to the Bayern squad, however. Unlike Pep, Carlo gives his players much more freedom of movement on the pitch. When used with the proper play-style and formation, this can be a great thing. However, in the close-passing, possession focused play of Pep Guardiola, this is terrible.

Bayern Munich hardly ever looked convincing in last seasons Hinrunde. Their Rückrunde was marginally better, but only just. Even when deployed in the modern classic 4-2-3-1, Ancelotti’s Bayern never quite lived up to expectations.

So far in the ’17-18 season and pre-season Ancelotti has been a bit more adventurous with his formations. One of his most successful formation attempts has been a 4-4-2 of sorts. With Thomas Muller joining Robert Lewandowski up front and Coco Tolisso sharing the right-flank with Joshua Kimmich, the Bavarians have found real success in the timeless formation — as evidenced in the 2017 Supercup.

Another option is Ancelotti’s famed 4-3-2-1 “Christmas Tree” formation. This would provide Carlo with a strong midfield trio without sacrificing players in the attack. Thomas Muller and James Rodriguez would sit behind Robert Lewandowski simultaneously playing as second strikers and attacking midfielders and also providing a bit of width.

Should more width be required, Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba would be tasked with running the flanks, while one of the midfield trio would drop back and help fill the holes in defense.

No matter the formation he chooses, Ancelotti needs to find and develop an identity for his Bayern Munich. And it must be an identity that tailors to the team’s core players, not the aging wingers they’ve heavily relied upon for so long.

3) Ditch his over-reliance on “Robbery”

Not only does Ancelotti need to find a formation and play-style that works for his team, he needs to do so without catering to Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.

Bayern Munich have relied on the pair to lead their attack for the better part of a decade. But now it is time to move on. A new system is needed that allows others to show their creativity and goal-scoring threat in place of “Robbery.”

Don’t misunderstand though. This is by no means a call to drop the duo entirely. They are still two of the best players on the squad, and both have potential to completely change the outcome of a match (particularly Robben).

However, it is imperative that Carlo Ancelotti and co. learn how to function without them. And with the several new signings made this summer, there’s never been a better time to do just that. James Rodriguez and Thomas Muller were a fantastic pairing this past pre-season. Maybe it’s time for the Colombia and Germany internationals to take over the reigns as Bayern’s creative attacking force.

They might lack the speed and mobility of a younger Robben and Ribery, but that’s where the change in play-style comes in. A midfield trio with the likes of Thiago, Tolisso, Rudy and Vidal would have no shortage of late attacking runs. Similarly, Bayern’s full-backs are more than capable of providing width in the attack (as already noted).

And if more speed is needed, then Bayern do have one of the world’s fastest attackers in their ranks. Young Frenchman Kingsley Coman is ready to step-up and show that he too is deserving of a spot in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI.

4) Give the squad’s younger players more trust

This is one area that Carlo Ancelotti has been equal parts successful and unsuccessful. Last season Ancelotti was disastrous in terms of incorporating the young stars at his disposal.

After the player had an immense run of games early in the season, Carlo pushed Joshua Kimmich to the subs bench, stifling the Kid’s wonderful form and nearly causing him to re-think his decision to join Bayern. Bayern’s other notable young stars — Kingsley Coman and Renato Sanches — both found playing time extremely hard to come by under their Italian manager.

So far this season and pre-season, however, things have been a bit different. It could simply be down to an injury crisis, but Ancelotti has been much better in incorporating Bayern’s young stars.

Corentin Tolisso, Joshua Kimmich and Niklas Süle have all featured in each of Die Roten’s competitive matches this campaign. The trio appear to be a big part of Ancelotti’s plans this season.

Kimmich is a sure-fire starter at right-back, while Coco Tolisso has thus far completely proven his worth in the midfield. Niklas Süle, meanwhile, is showing he has what it takes to compete with Boateng and Martinez for the center-back spot alongside Mats Hummels.

A couple of Bayern’s young stars have still found playing time hard to come by this season. Renato Sanches is one, but given the apparent imminence of his departure, that is understandable. The Portugual international never quite settled in at Bayern. On the other hand, not including Kingsley Coman more often in the squad is completely unacceptable.

Fortunately, like Thomas Muller, Coman showed exactly why he must play more often in this past weekend’s Werder Bremen clash. Coming on as a sub for Arjen Robben, the winger’s trickery and speed made the difference for Bayern’s opener.

Coman, Kimmich, Süle and Tolisso are surely the future of Bayern Munich. And the future looks bright for the Bavarians. Carlo Ancelotti simply needs to put some faith in his young stars and they won’t let him down.

5) Fix that shaky back-line

Complaining about the Bavarians’ defensive line seems to have become the norm for Bayern fans. But there’s good cause for that. Too often, Bayern Munich’s back-line has been exploited with ease. Every team and manager in Europe knows the solution to get past Bayern’s defense: counter-attack.

Carlo Ancelotti has to develop a defensive shape that doesn’t completely fall apart at even the slightest breakaway. Perhaps this dovetails off his need to find a formation and style of play that works with his squad. Whatever the case, it must be fixed.

Like a few other things on this list, Carlo Ancelotti has shown some signs of fixing the problem. The defense was solid against Werder Bremen; then again, that is a team with a serious pace deficiency.

Borussia Dortmund easily exposed Bayern with high-pressure and counter-attacks in the 2017 Supercup. Similarly, Liverpool’s dangerous attack did the same thing in the pre-season Audi Cup. The warning signs are all there. Now they must be addressed.

Next: Bayern Munich: Key factors in each Champions League group stage clash

However, Carlo Ancelotti has shown signs of addressing the problem. Like most things on this list, the Italian manager seems to be making progress. This season could be a joy to behold for Bayern Munich fans, but it could also be a disaster. A big deciding factor either way, will be whether or not Carlo Ancelotti addresses these five things that could lead his squad to a successful season.