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Five things Hansi Flick needs to improve at Bayern Munich

By Kiran Thakare

FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY - DECEMBER 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Schwarzwald-Stadion on December 18, 2019 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, GERMANY - DECEMBER 18: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of FC Bayern Muenchen looks on during the Bundesliga match between Sport-Club Freiburg and FC Bayern Muenchen at Schwarzwald-Stadion on December 18, 2019 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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11 December 2019, Bavaria, Munich: Soccer: Champions League, Bayern Munich – Tottenham Hotspur, Group stage, Group B, 6th matchday in the Allianz Arena. Back row: Alphonso Davies (l-r), goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Benjamin Pavard, Javi Martinez, Ivan Perisic and Jerome Boateng. Front row: Joshua Kimmich (l-r), Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Thiago and Philippe Coutinho from FC Bayern Munich. Photo: Matthias Balk/DPA (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
11 December 2019, Bavaria, Munich: Soccer: Champions League, Bayern Munich – Tottenham Hotspur, Group stage, Group B, 6th matchday in the Allianz Arena. Back row: Alphonso Davies (l-r), goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, Benjamin Pavard, Javi Martinez, Ivan Perisic and Jerome Boateng. Front row: Joshua Kimmich (l-r), Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman, Thiago and Philippe Coutinho from FC Bayern Munich. Photo: Matthias Balk/DPA (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images) /

Settle down to a strong starting XI

Flick’s first four games ended with victories and four clean sheets. The German manager was quick to identify his strongest starting XI at that moment and decided to stick with it for an extended run of games. To everyone’s surprise, he started tinkering with the starting eleven after this run, which led to a dip in the team’s performances.

During the winter break, Flick needs to settle on his strongest starting eleven. Kingsley Coman and Lucas Hernandez will be fit to train with the squad during the winter camp. Jann-Fiete Arp, Leon Goretzka, and Corentin Tolisso will also completely recover from their respective injuries. During the seven days camp in Doha, Flick will have a big squad, so he should focus on finally nailing down his strongest starting eleven.

Squad rotation is important to keep players fresh and keep a positive environment in the dressing room, but it should not be done the way Flick did at the start of December, making a lot of changes in one game. Multiple changes in the starting line-up at the same time doesn’t help in building the chemistry and coordination to reach a certain level of consistency in performances.

A settled line-up playing during the Bundesliga games in January will help Bayern to prepare well for the Champions League tie against Chelsea. Flick and Bayern fans will have to hope that there are no more injury concerns during the second half of the season.