Bayern Munich have sacked Carlo Ancelotti after Wednesday’s shocking defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions league. The 58-year-old has been relieved of his duties after just one full season in charge of the German side as a result of their defeat in France and replaced him with Willy Sagnol as interim manager. The German champions were humbled 3-0 in their Champions League clash in Paris, and the Italian coach came under criticism for leaving Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery and Mats Hummels out of the starting eleven.
The 58-year-old defended his tactics and selection for the game, telling reporters afterwards: "I know I will get criticism, that's fine. I thought it was a good line-up for this game."
However, he faced questions from the Bayern board over some of his decisions the next day, as German newspaper Sport Bild revealed that crisis talks with the higher-ups were scheduled on Thursday. CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge did not make it easy on Ancelotti when he said the performance was "not Bayern Munich" and said the club needed to discuss it. Arjen Robben, meanwhile, refused to say whether the Bayern players still backed their boss.
"The performance of the team since the start of the season did not meet the expectations we put on them," Rummenigge said as the news of his sacking was made official on Thursday.
"The game in Paris clearly showed that there had to be consequences. Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic and I gave Carlo an open and serious talk today and informed him of our decision.
"I would like to thank Carlo for his cooperation and regret this development. Carlo is my friend and will remain so, but we had to make a professional decision based on Bayern's interests.
"I now expect the team to have a positive development and absolute determination, so we can reach our goals for this season."
Ancelotti leaves with Bayern sitting three points behind Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga after six games after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Hoffenheim and most recently losing a two-goal lead to draw with Wolfsburg. The three-time Champions League winning coach signed a three-year contract when he took over at the Allianz Arena in 2016 as Pep Guardiola's replacement.
The former AC Milan star lifted the Bundesliga title at the only time of asking but saw his side eliminated from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage at the hands of Real Madrid. They also lost to Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final last term.
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