MY ACCOUNT
Joshua Kimmich and Julian Nagelsmann led the praise for Bayern Munich’s rampant attacking unit after Friday’s 6-1 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern made it two wins from two to start the season after their 5-3 DFL-Supercup victory over RB Leipzig last week, beginning their Bundesliga campaign in similarly stunning fashion.
They had 23 shots, aiming 10 of those on target, worth 4.2 expected goals (xG) to Frankfurt’s 0.9 xG from eight attempts.
Kimmich opened the scoring with the quickest goal scored directly from a free-kick in the Bundesliga since November 2019, before Benjamin Pavard made it 2-0 to Bayern by the 10th minute.
Hosts Eintracht squandered some golden chances, but Bayern were in scintillating form, with Sadio Mane – the first player to score in his opening two matches for the Bavarian club since Mario Mandzukic in 2012 – heading home on his Bundesliga debut prior to Jamal Musiala and Serge Gnabry making it 5-0 before half-time.
Bayern have now scored five times in the first half of four Bundesliga away games, and although Manuel Neuer’s mistake gifted Frankfurt a consolation, Musiala’s second capped off a supreme display from the 10-time reigning champions, who clearly did not miss Robert Lewandowski.
“It really made me want to be on the pitch today,” Kimmich told reporters. “Of course, one point of criticism is always that we didn’t manage to keep a clean sheet again.
“It wasn’t wrong to go forward. The four up front, that’s fun! Something can happen there. We must not let up, but we can go into the next games with a good feeling.”
Nagelsmann added: “The energy was outstanding in the first half. In the second half, it was normal to slow down. That’s also a bit clever if you look at the calendar for the next few months.
“In terms of football, the first half was very, very good to watch. We are very flexible at the top, Mane gives us more flexibility. That’s already difficult to defend. You can feel a very good energy, and you can see that in the performance.”
Thomas Muller, who matched Hans Georg Schwarzenbeck’s 416 Bundesliga outings for Bayern (the second-most among outfield players) and provided two assists, said: “Flawless when you win the opening game here 6-1. It was a tailor-made start.”
Frankfurt now have to turn their attention to the Super Cup against Real Madrid, and Oliver Glasner offered few excuses for his side’s display, simply accepting Bayern were in a league of their own.
“Bayern were just too good for us today,” Glasner said. “You have to acknowledge that. You saw today what happens when you offer this offensive space – namely a lot of chances and goals. We didn’t have a chance today.”
