Tops and flops of Bayern’s 5th straight Bundesliga title
Bayern Munich won a fifth-straight German league title on Saturday with a 6-0 win at Wolfsburg. Bayern are German champions for the 27th time, but are still smarting from their German Cup semi-final defeat and Champions League quarter-final exit inside eight days. Take a look at the top and flops at Bayern in winning the 2016/17 Bundesliga title:
THE TOPS ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI
The Polish hot-shot’s performances have lived up to his salary, estimated to be 15 million euros ($16.3m). His two goals in the Wolfsburg rout means he has netted 28 times in the league this season, one ahead of Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the race to be the Bundesliga’s top-scorer. Lewandowski has scored 41 times in all competitions this season. Without his finishing, Bayern were nowhere near as dangerous in their 2-1 first-leg defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League’s quarter-finals when he had a shoulder injury.
THE VETERANS
The members of Bayern’s squad over 30 have been a big plus this season, but Carlo Ancelotti will lose Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso’s experience next season. Bayern’s captain Lahm, 34, has been faultless at right-back or in midfield, while Alonso has been Mr Reliable in the defensive midfield. The pair will hang up their boots at the end of the season and are hard to replace. Franck Ribery, 33, and Arjen Robben, 34, have had a new lease of life under Ancelotti and have a year left on their contracts. Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, 31, has been rock-solid reliable between the posts. It is no coincidence that Bayern’s five-match winless streak this month coincided with Neuer sidelined. A fractured foot has ruled him out for the rest of the season, but he is set to succeed Lahm as captain next season.
THE FLOPS THE YOUNG GUNS
The youngsters in Bayern’s squad have struggled. Joshua Kimmich, 22, returned from Euro 2016 as Germany’s first-choice right-back, then spent a frustrating season mainly on Bayern’s bench. With Lahm at right-back, Kimmich is down the pecking order in Bayern’s defensive midfield behind Alonso, Arturo Vidal and Javi Martinez. Injury restricted France winger Kingsley Coman, 20, to just two appearances over 90 minutes in the league this season. Renato Sanches, 19, arrived in Munich after winning Euro 2016 with Portugal, but failed to impose himself. He has started just five league games this season, was awful in Bayern’s 1-0 defeat at Hoffenheim earlier this month. None of his 16 league appearances have been over the 90 minutes.
CARLO ANCELOTTI
It seems harsh to rate the Italian as ‘a flop’ after winning the Bundesliga in his first season, but one title per season is a poor return by Bayern’s standards. Munich collapsed in April with four defeats to exit both the Champions League and German Cup. When the pressure came on, Ancelotti’s team was found wanting at home in both competitions.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Real’s 2-1 firstleg win in Munich in the Champions League while Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele sealed 3-2 German Cup semi-final win. Bayern threw away the lead on both occasions-unheard of at the Allianz Arena. Rummenigge blamed Bayern’s 4-2 quarter-final, second-leg defeat in Madrid on poor refereeing ”we were shafted”-after Arturo Vidal was sent off for a second booking.
Refereeing decisions and injury aside, Ancelotti’s first season makes poor reading compared to predecessor Pep Guardiola. The Catalan signed off his three seasons with the league and cup double. He led Bayern to the Champions League’s semi-finals for three years running, so Ancelotti’s quarter-final exit is a step down. The Italian has already been given a vote of confidence by Rummenigge, but Bayern’s bosses will not tolerate a repeat of the disappointments witnessed this April. —AFP