Bayern Munich Need Resurgent Mueller and Gotze to Step Up Against Shakhtar

Bayern Munich beat Hannover 3-1 on Saturday, and for the second consecutive game, it was the German giants' younger generation stepping up to deliver match-winning performances.

Veterans such as Arjen Robben and Xabi Alonso have carried Bayern through the current campaign—indeed, the latter netted a brilliant free-kick to level the scores on Saturday.

However, it was a huge game for Thomas Mueller, who entered it having struggled in recent weeks (his gala against a woeful Hamburg aside) and having played a full 90 minutes just once in 2015. The 25-year-old scored the go-ahead goal from the penalty spot and later made it 3-1 with a very well-placed and hard-to-execute header.

Mueller's performance followed Wednesday's DFB-Pokal victory against Eintracht Braunschweig, in which 22-year-olds David Alaba and Mario Gotze grabbed the goals in Bayern's 2-0 win. The former's free-kick was exquisite, the latter's mazy dribble and finish mesmerizing. Coupled with Mueller's performance against Hannover, it was a good week for Bayern's younger generation.

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Gotze just destroyed this defense. World class goal. https://t.co/BIe7AJ6jeV

— ❤️=⚽️ (@Total_Futbol_) March 4, 2015"

The Bavarians have relied heavily upon their old guard to deliver the goods this season, with Robben and Ribery retaining a status they have enjoyed since teaming up in 2009. The Dutchman is second in the Bundesliga scoring charts with 17 goals to go with his seven assists. The Frenchman, despite being injured early in the campaign, has notched five goals and seven assists thus far in the German top flight.

Between them, Ribery and Robben have managed to record a goal or assist in all but six games for Bayern this season. The fact that two of them came in the last few days and still resulted in wins is a positive step for the club, which will have to come to depend on its younger generation sooner or later; whether that will be due to the likes of Gotze and Robert Lewandowski stepping up or Robben and Ribery declining remains to be seen.

Two domestic games are only the start, though. Braunschweig were second-division opponents and Hannover are only five points clear of an automatic relegation spot. The real test will come on a far greater stage.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

On Wednesday, Bayern play host to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. The Ukrainians managed to not only hold on for a scoreless draw in the first leg but also hardly conceded a chance to their visitors.

Not one of Gotze, Mueller, Ribery or Robben impressed in that match. In fact, the veteran wing duo have hardly set the Champions League alight this season, recording a respectable, but modest by their standards, four goals and one assist combined.

Shakhtar represent an entirely different test from Bayern's average domestic opponents. They have a better squad than most German teams and will be bolstered by the fact that the match is not just a three-point league game that is of little relevance in the grand scheme of a long campaign.

The fact it's the Champions League, the greatest stage upon which many of their players will ever play, will provide even more motivation.

Shakhtar's desire was evident in the first leg, in which they offered little fluency on the ball but an abundance of energy and pace. They frustrated their visitors enough to extract several bookings from Bayern, among them a pair of yellow cards that will see Alonso suspended on Wednesday.

If Bayern's younger generation can deliver the goods to put the German champions through to the quarter-finals, it could be the beginning of real and ultimately necessary change in Munich.

Gotze, Mueller and Alaba will bring some confidence into the match, so the chance should be there for the taking. 

@Mr_Bundesliga