Bavarian giants make statement start: Bayern Munich crush Stuttgart 5-1

Bayern Munich delighted their home crowd on Friday with a commanding 5-1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the season's opening Bundesliga fixture. As DieRoten notes, the match was a rematch of last season's German Cup final between the two sides.

Match action

According to Meczyki.pl, chances came at both ends early on — Stuttgart's Tiago Tomas fired wide, while Bayern's Michael Olise came even closer, striking the post. Bayern broke the deadlock in the 21st minute when Dayot Upamecano converted a well-placed corner delivery from Joshua Kimmich. The match turned dramatic in the second half: Stuttgart defender Josha Vagnoman equalized in the 52nd minute, but the tie lasted only a few minutes — in the 55th minute, Olise restored Bayern's lead to 2-1, again assisted by Kimmich. Just two minutes later, Vagnoman turned the ball into his own net, extending Bayern's advantage to 3-1. Bavarian Football Works describes the own goal as a comical mishap, with the German defender sliding the ball past his own goalkeeper. A further Olise goal was later ruled out for offside. Aleksandar Pavlović made it 4-1 in the 82nd minute, before Colombian forward Luis Díaz sealed the emphatic 5-1 scoreline in stoppage time.

Line-ups and substitutions

As reported by Goal.com, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany once again left new Moroccan signing Ismael Saibari out of the starting eleven — as he had done in the Super Cup match against Borussia Dortmund — instead fielding natural full-back Nathaniel Brown in the attacking midfield role. Saibari came on as a substitute and, according to Bavarian Football Works, made a strong impression despite his limited playing time.

Context

Bayern had already opened their season a week earlier by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the German Super Cup. Stuttgart, coached by Sebastian Hoeness, finished 4th last season and reached the German Cup final, returning to the Champions League after a year's absence. Per DieRoten, Bayern have now led the Bundesliga table for 66 consecutive matchdays, a league record, and have not lost an opening-day match since 2011.