Ancelotti upbeat as tour draws to close
The FC Bayern party have two more days in Singapore before the Audi Summer Tour ends with Thursday’s match against Inter Milan (19:30 local time / 13:30 CEST). “It’s another important test. We mustn’t waste time worrying about exhaustion after our heavy load in training. We have to play well as a team and show a little more discipline,” Carlo Ancelotti told the media on Wednesday.
Bayern have spent ten days in Asia and played three friendly matches. The boss offered an upbeat summary: “The games against Chelsea [a 3-2 win] and Arsenal [defeat on penalties] were good, but we didn’t play well against Milan [a 4-0 defeat]. We’ve been working on our physical condition and that’s come along well.”
Lessons learned
Mats Hummels was in full agreement: “We’ve learned a lot from what we’ve experienced here. I rate it as a good trip. We’re in better physical shape now, because the playing and training conditions here have been genuinely hard. I think it’ll be much easier to run in Germany where the temperature’s 15 degrees lower.”
The only real negative is the injury to Juan Bernat, who sustained ankle ligament damage and will be sidelined for “eight to 12 weeks,” according to Ancelotti. Hummels even felt there was a positive dimension to the defeat against AC Milan. “It was important for the future. We saw where we still have work to do,” the 28-year-old explained.
Full squad as of Sunday
The Reds are determined to finish the tour on a high with a good result against Inter before boarding the plane home. The players are scheduled to arrive in Munich on Friday morning, and although Saturday is a day off, the next training session is set for Sunday. That will be a gathering of the full squad for the first time in preseason, as the club’s Confederations Cup participants including new boys Niklas Süle and Sebastian Rudy will report to base for the first time.
“I like competition for places. Everyone works hard and stays motivated,” declared Hummels. With that, the centre-back exited the media centre at Singapore National Stadium to join in the final pre-match workout. The end of the Audi Summer Tour is in sight, and the Bayern stars are in good shape.