Bayern Strikes
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Five Bayern Munich players improved under Hansi Flick

By Kiran Thakare

GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - MARCH 03: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of Bayern Muenchen celebrates after winning during the DFB Cup quarterfinal match between FC Schalke 04 and FC Bayern Muenchen at Veltins Arena on March 3, 2020 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Max Maiwald/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - MARCH 03: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) head coach Hansi Flick of Bayern Muenchen celebrates after winning during the DFB Cup quarterfinal match between FC Schalke 04 and FC Bayern Muenchen at Veltins Arena on March 3, 2020 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Max Maiwald/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /
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MUNICH, GERMANY – DECEMBER 11: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Jerome Boateng of FC Bayen Muenchen controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League group B match between Bayern Muenchen and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Arena on December 11, 2019, in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
MUNICH, GERMANY – DECEMBER 11: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Jerome Boateng of FC Bayen Muenchen controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League group B match between Bayern Muenchen and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Arena on December 11, 2019, in Munich, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

Jerome Boateng

The most surprising name on this list. Jerome Boateng has been agitating for a move away from Bayern Munich for the past two summers. The German defender came close to joining Pari Saint-Germain in 2018 and Juventus in 2019, but both moves couldn’t materialize.

On the pitch, Boateng was becoming error-prone due to his lack of pace. He was being targeted by opponents consistently. His poor performances eventually led to his demotion to the bench. At the start of the 2019/20 season, he further fell in the pecking order due to the arrivals of Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard.

However, Hansi Flick’s arrival has completely changed the scenario for Boateng. The injuries to other defenders have played their part, but Boateng has grabbed his opportunities. Flick’s move to move the defensive line a bit behind has also helped the German defender to combat rapid forwards. His passing never took a hit, so distribution from the back was never an issue.

Since the winter break, Boateng has firmly established as the first choice center-back in the team. Even after Hernandez returned to action, Flick decided to persist with Boateng. The German defender also put in extra effort to lose weight during the winter break to improve his game. His performances have improved after every game, so it was not a huge surprise to see him start against Chelsea last week. If he continues to deliver such performances, then Die Roten may end up giving him a new contract.