FC Bayern Munich: Takeaways from win against Arminia Bielefeld
Hansi Flick making good use of five substitutes
Apart from the Premier League, the five substitutes rule has been implemented in every top league in Europe. The Bundesliga was a firm advocate of using this rule this season due to the congestion of fixtures.
Hansi Flick often stuck with his preferred team every week last season, but this campaign, he has been open to rotating the team to manage the workload of players. Along with making changes to the starting XI, Flick has been clever with his substitutes.
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Around the hour mark, he made two important substitutes to keep Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka fresh for Wednesday’s game against Atletico Madrid. The German manager can keep the fringe players happy by giving them 30 minutes on the pitch. By adding more depth to the squad at the end of the transfer window will further strengthen Flick’s hand to be proactive from the touchline.
Along with fringe players, Jamal Musiala has also benefitted from this new substitution rule. The 17-year-old has been used in almost every league game this season. Even ten minutes with the senior team on the pitch will be beneficial for Musiala. Flick has been utilizing this rule perfectly in the domestic competitions till now. It will be intriguing to see if he adopts a similar approach in European games.