Ancelotti happy to inherit Guardiola’s winning machine
BERLIN: Pep Guardiola’s successor Carlo Ancelotti says he has changed little at Bayern Munich as the defending German champions drubbed Werder Bremen 6-0 on Friday to kick off the new season.
The Italian is clearly a fan of the adage ‘never change a winning team’ after Guardiola led Bayern to the German league and cup double on his swansong last season.
Under Guardiola, now head coach at Manchester City, and his predecessor Jupp Heynckes, Bayern won the last four Bundesliga titles in a row, a record in Germany’s top flight.
Ancelotti says he made few changes to Guardiola’s set up as Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick and Bayern enjoyed 70 percent possession at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
“I changed very little as this is a very strong team, maybe we just need to play forward a little more,” Ancelotti told German broadcaster ARD.
“I am very happy. That was a very good performance from my team.
“We got off to a good start and took control of the game early on. We played well over the 90 minutes, I’m happy and there are only a few things to improve.
“Robert Lewandowski is a fantastic striker, but we played well going forward, using lots of combinations and attacked with lots of players.”
Lewandowski, the Bundesliga’s top-scorer last season with 30 goals, could have finished with five as Bayern ran riot. DORTMUND ALSO OFF TO A WINNING START Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice to give new-look Borussia Dortmund a winning start to the Bundesliga as they beat Mainz 05 2-1 on Saturday.
Defender Michael Hector was sent off for the second time in as many appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt while Cologne’s 2-0 win over Darmstadt was halted for 12 minutes in the second half as lightning flashed around the stadium.
The five afternoon matches were all played in intense heat and needed water breaks.
Aubameyang headed in a cross from Andre Schuerrle after 17 minutes. The Gabon forward converted a penalty late in the game to extend the lead, although Dortmund survived a nervy finale after Yoshinori Muto pulled a goal back for coach Thomas Tuchel’s old club in the 90th minute.
Alex Maier scored an early goal but missed a second-half penalty as Eintracht Frankfurt beat Schalke 04 1-0.
Jamaica defender Hector, dismissed on his debut in the cup match, was given a straight red card in the 79th minute for a foul on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.