'Unfinished' Sane criticised as Bayern Munich crash out of Champions League

James Westwood

'Unfinished' Sane criticised as Bayern Munich crash out of Champions League image

Mehmet Scholl singled Leroy Sane out for criticism as Bayern Munich crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday, labelling the winger an "unfinished" player.

Sane played the full 90 minutes of Bayern's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their quarter-final tie, which wasn't enough to overturn their 3-2 defeat at Allianz Arena in the first leg.

The reigning champions exited the competition on away goals and Scholl highlighted Sane's minimal impact on proceedings post-match, claiming that he still has some way to go before becoming a complete player.

What's been said?

"I'm overwhelmed, I don't know. At 25 years of age, he's still unfinished," the former Bayern midfielder said of Sane during an interview with Bild. "When do I dribble? When do I pass the opponent on which side?

"The mix isn't right yet, he still lacks structure. He's gotten better overall and is getting more and more understanding of Bayern Munich, but he's not quite as far as bang in a game like Arjen Robben or Franck Ribery were."

Sane's record for Bayern

Bayern forked out an initial fee of €49 million (£43m/$59m) to sign Sane from Manchester City last summer, finally bringing one of the long-running transfer sagas of the past few years to a close.

The Germany international has failed to hit the ground running in his first season at Allianz Arena amid strong competition for places alongside Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry.

Sane has featured in 38 games across all competitions for Bayern to date and has only scored eight goals during that period, but has also been able to record 11 assists.

The bigger picture

Sane was handed a bumper five-year deal upon his arrival at Bayern, so the German champions won't be panicking about the ex-City star's inconsistent form just yet, particularly given the fact his rhythm was disrupted by injury just before the winter break.

However, Sane's latest display against PSG would have done little to convince head coach Hansi Flick that he deserves a regular spot in his line up, and Bayern could yet decide to make changes upfront in the summer after their European exit.

Further reading

James Westwood