Carlo Ancelotti sacked by Bayern Munich after 3-0 defeat by PSG

The Italian has been under growing pressure with Bayern down in third in the Bundesliga

Bayern Munich are holding a crisis meeting to discuss Carlo Ancelotti's future (Getty)

Carlo Ancelotti has left his job at Bayern Munich after a board meeting on Thursday afternoon, with the performance of the team and the side’s 3-0 thrashing at the feet of Paris Saint-Germain adding to the generally poor start to the season.

The previously dominant German champions currently lie in third in the Bundesliga, having recently drawn 2-2 with Wolfsburg and getting beaten 2-0 by Hoffenheim, and will now be managed by Ancelotti's assistant coach Willy Sagnol on an interim basis.

A statement issued on Thursday afternoon by the Bavarian club read: “Following an internal analysis in Munich on Thursday 28 September 2017, FC Bayern München have announced the club is to part company with head coach Carlo Ancelotti with immediate effect.”

“Assistant coach Willy Sagnol will take charge of the team on an interim basis.”

The latter are managed by Julian Nagelsmann, whose forward-thinking methods have already attracted the admiration of the Bayern board, and he is expected to be the next manager of the club regardless of what happens in the short-term future.

Against that, players and officials at the Allianz Arena had been increasingly disgruntled with the low-intensity nature of Ancelotti’s coaching, especially after the widely respected sophistication of Pep Guardiola’s approach. There is also a feeling that his famed man-management, a major reason that he got the job, has been lacking in a dressing room that is experiencing more tension than it has in years.

The 3-0 defeat to PSG was actually their biggest loss in the Champions League since the 4-0 loss to Guardiola’s Barcelona in 2008-09, a match that caused a deep overhaul of the club’s football operations.

Arjen Robben was one of a number of Bayern players left out of the starting line-up for the match at the Parc des Princes as part of Ancelotti’s rotation policy, an approach that has brought further questions, and the Dutch star declined to directly back his manager after the game.

“It’s important for us to stay together,”Robben said. “We’ve had many moments to celebrate. Now in a more difficult situation, we have to support each other.”