Bayern Munich on Saturday begins a particularly busy period in its schedule this season that sees last season’s treble winner involved in seven games in just 21 days. These include away tripsto Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga, as well as a home clash with English giant Manchester City in the second of the defending champion’s UEFA Champions League group games.
Dutch winger Arjen Robben has urged his teammates to step up their game ahead of the crucial period, citing the club’s last Bundesliga outing — a 1-1 draw with Freiburg– as evidence that they must improve. “We need to put the pedal to the metal,” Robben told reporters on Thursday. “It was unnecessary that we dropped two points in Freiburg. We are on the righttrack, now it really begins. It is not the most important thing to be on top. We need to look at ourselves. You always want to top the table, but that just happens when you win games.”
Bayern is currently struggling with injuries to midfielders Mario Gotze, Javi Martinez and Thiago Alcantara, but Robben says that injuries are no excuse:”It’s a shame they are sidelined. We need all players, difficult weeks are coming up,” Robben said. “But that shall not be an excuse.” Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who hadbeen sidelined with an ankle injury, is expected to make his return to the squad.