There were many questions before this first game of the new Bundesliga season, for example who would probably finish second behind Bayern Munich this time. But the most exciting question was this: How would that work without Robert Lewandowski, i.e. “target player”, as they say in the technical jargon? After one minute and 30 seconds the question was still not answered, Joshua Kimmich found the famous Liverpool access Sadio Mané in a corner kick, but goalkeeper Kevin Trapp easily intercepted his header.
Three and a half minutes later, Bayern found a different answer, an unexpected one: Kimmich decided not to consult a target player for a free kick, he decided that he could also head for the goal directly: he slyly flicked the ball around the outside of a poor imitation wall – and started a game in which Robert Lewandowski was by no means missed. Recently, Bayern have always tried to formulate that Lewandowski’s goals should be spread over several shoulders, and that evening they understood what that meant.
The 6-1 start win at Eintracht Frankfurt was not only a gigantic statement, but also a challenge for spectators and chroniclers: when numbering the goals, there was always a risk of miscounting. How is it now, 4-0 or 5-0? And the last goal, that was Gnabry, wasn’t it? Or maybe Musiala? Again to read: Joshua Kimmich, Benjamin Pavard, Sadio Mané, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala again scored for FC Bayern. And not even Lewandowski.
FC Bayern, so much time must be, is now the leader of the Bundesliga for one evening. And you might not be mistaken if you assume that Bayern will be up front even after the entire game day has been completed. And as far as the status after 34 match days is concerned, DFL boss Donata Hopfen can think about which digital tools she uses to feign excitement on the world markets.
Before this game, it was actually still unclear what kind of Bayern Munich it was. On the one hand, the people of Munich let themselves be celebrated for a big summer of transfers and celebrated themselves, on the other hand, decision-makers such as sports director Hasan Salihamidzic and coach Julian Nagelsmann appeared remorseful and humble in various interviews and admitted the most diverse mistakes. In the game itself, however, there were a maximum of ten minutes in which you could have a little doubt, and really only a little.
When it was 2-0 early on thanks to goals from Kimmich (5th) and Pavard (11th), the Frankfurters briefly managed to force Bayern into a wild game, in which both teams rushed through remarkably open spaces and created chances chance piled up. As always, Thomas Müller thought further than everyone else and already provided a scene for the annual reviews at the beginning of August when he thumped the ball free-standing against the post, fell to the ground and thumped the post again while lying down, accidentally with his head .
There followed moments in which one could consider whether a certain defensive absent-mindedness might get in the way of the brilliant Bayern over the course of the season, but before the thought had been thought through to the end, Kimmich sent Gnabry on the journey and his lob beheaded Mané into the gate. The score was 3-0 – and Bayern got into a frenzy that only left the opponent disoriented and staggering.
Thanks to dizzying combinations, Musiala (35′, assist by Mané and Müller) and Gnabry (43′, assist by Mané and Müller) conjured up two more goals, against which there was only one minor objection: it was no longer clear at this stage of the game , which was due to Bayern’s brilliance and which was due to Frankfurt’s grotesque defensive performance. After the 3-0 Eintracht had a kind of shock, they just let Bayern do it. Above all, Filip Kostic left spaces gaping on his left side into which some Frankfurt bank buildings could have been built.
Presumably this evening against overwhelmed Frankfurters says little about how the new Bayern will look in the future against Liverpool, Madrid or even Villarreal, but the Munich team can definitely take one lesson from this game: at least in the milieu of the good old Bundesliga their new, Lewandowski-less flexibility suitable to drive opposing defenses to despair. Where Mané is in one second, Gnabry is in the next. Or maybe Musiala?
Bayern played the second half casually, 17-year-old Mathys Tel got a few more minutes, as did Ryan Gravenberch, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt. To celebrate the day, Manuel Neuer spent another one, he put the 1:5 (64th) on Frankfurt’s Kolo Muani. The stadium announcer roared this goal into the evening as if Eintracht had just won the Europa League. He then officially announced the 1:6.
