After an underwhelming Hinrunde, Hansi Flick has few things to sort out at Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich ended 2019 on a strong note with three consecutive wins in the Bundesliga against Werder Bremen, Freiburg, and Wolfsburg. The win against Bremen was proper thrashing while Joshua Zirkzee bailed out Die Roten against Freiburg and Wolfsburg by scoring late winners.
The Bundesliga champions had similar inconsistent performances under Niko Kovac at the start of the season. Die Roten’s performances and results continued to deteriorate till November, which eventually led to Kovac’s departure. Hansi Flick was given temporary charge of the first team when the Croatian left the club.
Victories against Olympiakos and Borussia Dortmund in his first week as Bayern manager helped Flick to get the job till Christmas. Bayern continued the upturn of form under Flick before suffering two consecutive defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
However, a strong end to the year and praises from players made sure that Flick got the interim role at Bayern. The German manager has the winter camp to instill his philosophy and improve various aspects of Die Roten’s overall game. Here are the few things Flick needs to improve during the second half of the season.
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.
Decrease the dependability on Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski has been in the form of his life this season. The Polish striker scored 30 goals across all competitions by the halfway stage of the campaign. He is leading the charts in the Bundesliga with 18 goals.
Having the world’s best striker in the team is always beneficial, but there is one downside to it. The team heavily relies on one player to score goals. This can hurt the team when the forward is going through a rough patch during the season.
Lewandowski’s impact at Bayern’s campaign has played out in a similar manner. The Polish striker was quiet in front of the net for a couple of games in the league. As a consequence of these off days for Lewandowski, Die Roten struggled to score in these games. In such situations, Bayern needs other forwards to step up and improve their productivity in the final third.
Serge Gnabry is the second leading goal scorer behind Lewandowski with ten goals across all competition. Other than Gnabry, no other wide player has hit double digits for goals in the first half of the season. Flick needs to improve the confidence of other forwards in front of the goal. An improvement in the patterns of play in the final third can also help in creating more goalscoring chances for other forwards.
Improvement in the defensive structure
The biggest problem Bayern faced during the first half of the season was poor defensive structure. This eventually led to Die Roten conceding cheap goals and allowing the opposition a way back in the game. Due to their poor defensive shape, the defending champions have already lost two home games in the league.
Flick needs to solidify the back four during the break as weaker defenses rarely challenge for big titles. The German manager will receive a big boost during the break as Lucas Hernandez is closing on his return from an ankle injury. The Frenchman’s availability will help Bayern to defend well on the counter.
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Bayern tends to dominate the ball against all opponents. If Flick wants to solidify the defense, then he can move the final defensive line a few yards deeper against tougher opponents. This will help Die Roten in conceding fewer chances on the counter. Along with defense, number six will also have to move a bit deeper to provide solidity to the defense. Other midfielders and forwards can press higher up the pitch and try to kill the passing lanes for an opponent during a counter-attacking situation.
Flick also needs to improve the confidence of his defenders. This will help in eradicating unforced errors in the defense and build proper chemistry in the defensive unit. Flick needs to make sure that the defensive unit is much more solid and miser by the time they play knockout games in the Champions League.
Incorporating young players into the squad
Flick has been a breath of fresh air in terms of giving young players a chance in the first team. Joshua Zirkzee has paid off the faith shown by the gaffer by scoring two crucial goals against Wolfsburg and Freiburg. Apart from Zrikzee, Sarpreet Singh, and Leon Dajaku have also been handed debuts by the German managers.
These opportunities for younger players came up due to so many injuries to senior players. Flick needs to make sure that he manages the youngsters well when all-star players return from injuries. He should be brave enough to give them opportunities during the second half of the season as they are hungry to prove themselves at the top level.
There is a fine line between overusing and underusing youth players in the first team. Overusing them may affect the immediate results while giving them less game time may put a dent in their confidence. Flick needs to remain on the positive side of this line and slowly incorporate these promising young players in the first team.
Players such as Zirkzee will learn a lot by merely training with the first team, so it is no compulsion to involve them in every matchday. However, it will be a good start by giving them a meaningful amount of game time in DFB Pokal. Flick has been impressive till now in terms of managing the squad. It will be interesting to see how he handles young players in the second half of the season.
Improve his in-game management
Flick passed his first big tactical test with flying colours when Bayern came up against Borussia Dortmund in November. Die Roten looked solid at the back and efficient in the final third, scoring four goals past Roman Burki.
The German manager is able to set his team properly for every game, but he struggles to make an impact from the touchline. Flick hardly responds with tactical changes at half-time when the team is struggling to break down his opponents. He often tends to stick with one playing style and currently lacks plan B.
Apart from the tactical side of the game, Flick also takes too long to make substitutes. Even when Die Roten is chasing a game, he persists with the same group of players until the final quarter of the game. He needs to develop a habit of making inspirational substitutes that can change the game in Bayern’s favour.
Flick will have time to reflect on games that Bayern lost under him. His man-management skills are superb as players love him for his approach and how he treats every player. However, he needs to work on his in-game management during the break to become a tactically astute coach.