Buoyant Bayern look to get over placid start Barca want to help Dembele: Valverde
Kovac’s decision to not rotate squad is yielding results and the Bavarians are in no mood to relent
Berlin:resurgent Bayern Munich head to Ajax for Wednesday’s Champions League group showdown with clear winners and losers among the star-studded squad after coach Niko Kovac’s decision to end rotation.
“We want to keep going,” said Leon Goretzka, now a firm fixture in central midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich with Bayern having won their last three games after Saturday’s 3-0 league home win over Nuremberg.
“Now we travel to Amsterdam and want to finish first in the group – that’s important for us.”
Bayern need just a point at Ajax’s Johan Cruyff Arena to win Group E with the Bavarian giants currently top of the table, two points ahead of their Dutch rivals, and both teams already into the last 16.
A 5-1 thrashing of Benfica at the Allianz Arena a fortnight ago, with Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben both scoring twice, signified an end to the poor results of October and November which also saw Bayern slide down the Bundesliga table.
Bayern have now clawed their way back up to third in the league and Kovac has taken a gamble by ditching rotation, risking ruffled egos with stars left on the bench.
“The rhythm is there, the boys are in the flow – that’s why we don’t want to change anything,” explained Kovac.
His decision has significant winners and losers. World Cup winners – Germany defender Mats Hummels and Spain midfielder Javi Martinez – languished on the bench against Nuremberg alongside Euro 2016 winner Renato Sanches.
Martinez and Sanches find their path blocked by Kimmich and Goretzka, both 23, who each hit the woodwork against Nuremberg. “Both have a very good understanding of football and read the game well,” said Kovac, at the helm at Bayern since July.
“They get on well off the pitch and are in the national team. It’s an axis that’s really fun right now – not only for those two, but the whole team as well.”
However, Hummels looked like he was having anything but ‘fun’, storming through the
GROUP E
Bayern Munich are through and will clinch the first place with a draw. Ajax have qualified for knockouts but can top the group with a win over Bayern.
Benfica will finish third and move to Europa League round of 32.
AEK will finish fourth.
Team
Bayern Munich
Ajax
Benfica
AEK Athens
GROUP G
PWDLGDPTS
5
5
5
41
3206
1
1
0
3
10
-6
13
11
4
5 0 0 5 -10 0 Real Madrid have sealed the knockouts spot as group winners. Roma are through as group runners-up.
Plzen are third and thanks to their superior head-to-head record against CSKA Moscow they will clinch a place in the Europa League if they match the Russian side's result.
CSKA must pick up more points than Plzen to finish third.
Team
Real Madrid
AS Roma
Viktoria Plzen
CSKA Moscow
PWDLGDPTS
5
5
5
40
30
1
5 1
1
1
24
3
10
-10
12
9
4
1 3 -4 4
mixed zone after Saturday’s win without a word as Jerome Boateng and Niklas Suele are now established as Kovac’s centrebacks.
Disgruntled stars watching from Bayern’s bench has caused problems for Kovac’s predecessors and Robben’s imminent return from a thigh injury threatens Serge Gnabry’s place on the right wing.
Thiago Alcantara, a secondhalf replacement on Saturday who is returning to fitness after a knee injury, threatens to break up Kimmich and Goretzka’s partnership in central midfield.
GROUP F
Man City will seal the top spot if they win against Hoffenheim. Lyon just need a draw against Shakhtar to enter round of 16. They can even top the group if they win and City lose. Shakhtar will enter last 16 if they win. They will drop to Europa League if they draw or Hoffenheim do not win. Hoffenheim must win and hope Shakhtar lose in order to earn a Europa League place.
Team
Man City
Lyon
Shakhtar
Hoffenheim
GROUP H
PWDLGDPTS
9
10
514017
2
1
2
-8
5
5 03 2 -2 3 Juventus are through and will finish top if they win or Manchester United either draw or lose.
United are through and will finish top if they win and Juventus don’t. Valencia will drop to the
Europa League.
Young Boys will finish fourth.
Team
Juventus
Man United
Valencia
Young Boys
P
5
5
5
5
5
W
4
3
1
5 0
31
1
D
0
1
2
L
1
1
2
GDPTS
6
4
-1
12
10
5
1 4 -9 1
However, Kovac’s decision has reaped dividends in attack with striker Lewandowski scoring four goals in his last three games, supported by Thomas Mueller who is revelling in the attacking midfield role.
“At the start (of the season), we rotated as the coach tried to find the right team,” said sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
“Perhaps it was too much and some players didn’t know where they fitted in. In the last few games,
Niko hasn’t done that and the team looks good,” added Salihamidzic. BARCELONA:BARCELONA coach Ernesto Valverde said on Monday that the club wants to ‘help’ French winger Ousmane Dembele realise his potential, after the youngster’s latest disciplinary transgression.
The 21-year-old arrived two hours late for practice on Sunday and had to train alone and is now facing a disciplinary sanction from the La Liga champions.
“Something has happened that we are going to try to resolve internally, in the best possible way to help the player because he has a lot of talent,” Valverde said.
“What we want is to help him, because he’s young. He has a long career ahead of him, we want to get the best out of him, because we know when he feels good he can give us a lot.”
Dembele was also left out of a league match last month against Real Betis after missing training. But the former Borussia Dortmund man, who was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in Russia, took his goals tally in La Liga this season to six by scoring in Saturday’s 4-0 derby thrashing of Espanyol, despite having only played 90 minutes four times.
Centre-back Clement Lenglet defended his team-mate and compatriot, saying that his performances on the pitch outweigh any off-field issues. “I don’t really know what’s going on,” said Lenglet. “But what interests me right now about Ousmane is what he’s doing on the pitch, how he’s helping us, and he’s doing that very well.”
Barcelona have already qualified for the Champions League last 16 as winners of Group B.