Bayern Munich have sacked Carlo Ancelotti after Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat by PSG in the Champions League, the club’s heaviest defeat in the Champions League group stages for 21 years.

Italian leaves post after only one full season at Allianz Arena.

Italian leaves post after only one full season at Allianz Arena.

The Italian coach, who led Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga tittle last season after replacing Pep Guardiola last summer, was dismissed after a meeting of the club’s board last Thursday. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chief executive, said that Bayern’s performance since the start of the season did not meet the expectations putted on them, and that the game in Paris would draw consequences. Ancelotti assistant Willy Sagnol, former Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel and Hoffenheim’s Julian Nagelsmann are among the early favorites to succeed the Italian coach, with Sagnol to take temporary charge of the team, drawing 2-2 in the trip to the Olympiastadion, against Hertha Berlin. Bayern also confirmed that staff members Davide Ancelotti, Giovanni Mauri, Francesco Mauri and Mino Fulco have also left the club.

The Bavarians have also endured a difficult start to the Bundesliga season, losing at Hoffenheim in Bundesliga’s third round, fell into a 2-2 home draw against Wolfsburg, and draw against Hertha Berlin by 2-2, after losing a 0-2 lead on Sunday.

Speaking after the defeat to PSG, Ancelotti had admitted his side had been too slow out the blocks against their chief rivals to finish top Group B after falling behind to Dani Alves’s goal in the second minute. Bayern had a bad start, and after the early opener they had to change strategy completely, they had to regain control of the game and had a few chances, but couldn’t score, they lacked in balance and couldn’t stop the powerful PSG’s counter-attacks.

However, postmatch comments from Arjen Robben hinted that all was not well within Bayern camp, with already some news emerging saying that players like Robben, Ribéry, Lewandowski, Hummels, Boateng, among others, were unsatisfied with lack of intensity in the practices, which led those players training alone in order not to lose their competitive form.