Now, perhaps, James Rodríguez is the way by which Carlo Ancelotti will finally impress a version of his personality on Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga’s first Englische Woche – as they call a midweek programme of fixtures in Germany – of the season always hands out a few opportunities to unlikely heroes, as head coaches mix it up in the midst of a busy programme. Carlo Ancelotti, with a prestige Champions League meeting against former club Paris Saint-Germain, is no different, and accordingly made six changes for Bayern Munich’s Tuesday trip to Schalke, the standout fixture of the round.
One was enforced, with Sven Ulreich taking his position between the posts on the day it was announced Manuel Neuer would be out until January with another foot injury, suffered in training on Monday and which has required surgery. Yet if most eyes at the Veltins Arena were trained on the replacement goalkeeper (who began this week with a grand total of seven Bundesliga appearances for Bayern since arriving in summer 2015), the limelight was quickly wrested away from him by one of the other stand-ins.
Related: Woe of Cologne continues amid latest video replay stink | Andy Brassell
Related: Napoli have never looked more ready under Sarri to challenge for Serie A title | Paolo Bandini
Continue reading...