Bayern’s depth faces CL test, Ancelotti returns to Napoli
BERLIN: Injury-hit Bayern Munich travel to Copenhagen on Tuesday in the Champions League facing a depth problem which is effectively of their own making, while Carlo Ancelotti returns to his former club as Real Madrid face Napoli.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Manchester United host Galatasaray desperately needing a win while RC Lens’ will host Arsenal at a packed Stade Bollaert-Delelis, whose 38,000-capacity is famously larger than the entire population of the northern French town.
While Bayern make the trip to Copenhagen as strong favourites, it is the kind of midweek fixture that will test their depth as they hope to fight for all trophies on offer this season.
Injuries kept first-teamers Serge Gnabry and Matthijs de Ligt out of Bayern’s 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga at the weekend.
Combine the duo’s absence with injury clouds hovering above remaining centre-backs Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae and the Bayern hierarchy may begin to understand manager Thomas Tuchel’s persistent complaints about a lack of depth in his squad.
Despite a transfer window which brought England captain Harry Kane, Serie A defender of the year Kim and Konrad Laimer to Munich, Bayern allowed several players to leave in the summer.
The list of departures included France defenders Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez, midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Marcel Sabitzer and right-back Josip Stanisic.
Bayern’s depth concerns were best illustrated on Sunday, when former centre-back Jerome Boateng was seen training with the side ahead of a possible return.
Relegated to the bench last season, Boateng played just eight matches with Olympique Lyonnais and is likely to serve as little more than a back-up in Tuchel’s side should he re-sign.
United are bottom of Group ‘A’ after a 4-3 defeat at Bayern in their opening match last month and go into their game against Galatasaray on the back of a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday which dropped them down to 10th in the Premier League standings.
It was their fourth league defeat of the season — making this their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1989-90.
Despite United’s recent struggles, manager Erik ten Hag said on Monday his team were “moving forward”, adding: “You have to make adjustments. There are shortages in our game. A lot of positives, but at the end of the day it is about results and we didn’t get it.”
Ten Hag also hinted that winger Antony could return against Galatasaray; the 23-year-old having not played for United since the first week of September amid police investigations into assault allegations made by his former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin.
Group ‘C’ favourites Napoli and Real meet at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and Ancelotti, who was axed by president Aurelio De Laurentiis in December 2019, would doubtlessly enjoy proving a point.
Real — who were demolished 5-1 by defending champions Manchester City in last season’s semi-final — will look to secure top spot currently held by the Azzurris.
The visit to Napoli will be another acid test for both Ancelotti’s plan and Real’s squad depth, with striker Victor Osimhen in excellent form, despite his recent anger over the club insulting him on social media network TikTok.
Los Blancos are without injured defender David Alaba, leaving only Antonio Rudiger and Nacho Fernandez available in central defence.
Napoli coach Rudi Garcia will also be looking forward to the game — he was due to face
Real when at AS Roma in 2016, but was sacked ahead of the last 16 tie.
In the group’s other game, Union Berlin will make their home debut in the Champions League against Braga n the borrowed 75,000-capacity Olympic Stadium.
Union are using the Olympic Stadium — which hosted the 2015 Champions League final — because their intimate Stadion An der Alten Forsterei is too small for home games in Europe’s premier club competition.
Arsenal won their opening Group ‘B’ fixture against PSV Eindhoven 4-0 but their visit against Lens might be a bit trickier as Franck Haise side don’t surrender anywhere near as much space compared to PSV.
Lens finished second last season in Ligue 1 but started this season poorly, collecting one point from five league games before a fighting 1-1 draw with Sevilla in their Champions League opener.
In other action on Tuesday, Inter Milan host Benfica in Group ‘D’, having beaten the Portuguese champions in the quarter-finals on their way to losing the final last season.
Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2023