Manchester United have three perfect players to implement a new strategy

Hansi Flick's Bundesliga leaders have enjoyed roaring success since the German league restarted and Man Utd must prepare to do the same.

Football has been played at a slightly different pace since it returned to our screens, beamed back from Germany.

It's no surprise that players have been making fewer sprints and covering less ground in the last week or two, since their outrageous fitness levels simply couldn't be maintained during two months of lockdown. In the cases of stars like Manchester United transfer target Jadon Sancho, of Borussia Dortmund, there has been a noticeable drop-off in intensity.

In fairness to Sancho he has been carrying a minor muscle injury, but that is part and parcel of this unprecedented situation. It will no doubt be something the Premier League clubs and players have to address in the coming weeks, as we edge closer to a return for English football.

But Sancho wasn't the only Dortmund player who looked off the pace during Tuesday night's title showdown with rivals Bayern Munich. Der Klassiker was by no means short of entertainment and the Black and Yellows played their part, but eventually fell victim to an incredible display of organisation, discipline and, yes, fitness, from Hansi Flick's Bayern.

The team in red, nominally the away team at an empty Signal Iduna Park, were in full control of the game despite rarely dominating possession. In the end they had 49 per cent of the ball, but it could have been far less and it wouldn't have altered the result. As soon as Joshua Kimmich chipped home a delightful opening goal, Bayern were never going to relinquish their lead.

Because while other Bundesliga sides have struggled to match their running stats of old upon resumption, Bayern actually look to have taken their pressing game to a new level. No Dortmund player could rest on the ball for fear of being swarmed by red shirts. Sancho was introduced at half-time to make an attacking impact, but his struggles owed to the fact he couldn't live with Bayern's relentless tempo. Not many could.

It's difficult to explain how the German league leaders, now champions elect, have managed to do this.

You can only say they must have been working tremendously hard when they were finally allowed to train as a group again, after weeks of being locked down. You can only applaud them.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might want to try something similar. The Norwegian has been all about pressing from the front since he took charge at Old Trafford, placing an extra focus on fitness in pre-season with the aim of giving United that extra dimension.

Every top team implements a press of some kind nowadays but it had been strangely lacking from United's game under Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal. You would suggest that in Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Daniel James - likely to be United's front three when football returns - Solskjaer has the players to press from the front. He's always wanted lots of running from his forwards.

But to press like Bayern takes hours on the training field. United will be able to put in that work now the Premier League has granted permission for a return to full-contact training.

Bayern have managed to press their title challenges into submission in the space of three games since the Bundesliga returned. For United, being able to emulate Flick's tactic could be the difference in earning a spot in the top four and next season's Champions League.