MY ACCOUNT
Ryan Gravenberch and Mathys Tel scored their first Bayern Munich goals as Julian Nagelsmann’s side cruised past Viktoria Koln 5-0 in their DFB-Pokal first-round tie.
Signed from Ajax in June, Gravenberch opened his Bayern account 10 minutes before half-time, while 17-year-old Tel – an arrival from Rennes – added a superb second.
Sadio Mane made it 3-0 shortly after the restart with a simple tap-in, before substitute Jamal Musiala added a fourth.
Leon Goretzka then marked his first appearance of the season with a goal eight minutes from full-time as Bayern swept aside their third-tier opponents with little fuss.
Viktoria goalkeeper Ben Voll made a string of impressive saves in the opening half-an-hour but he was powerless to prevent Bayern from going ahead in the 35th minute.
The ball fell kindly to Gravenberch just inside the penalty area and he coolly slotted into Voll’s bottom-right corner.
Bayern cemented their dominance on the stroke of half-time – Tel cutting in from the left and unleashing a fizzing strike into the far corner.
Mane extended Bayern’s advantage in the 53rd minute with a close-range finish after he had been picked out by Serge Gnabry, before Voll made smart stops to deny the former Liverpool man and Musiala.
The latter was not to be frustrated again in the 67th minute, though, as he slid home after an incisive move involving Thomas Muller.
Goretzka, on as a substitute, then wrapped up the scoring late on with a crisp finish into the bottom-left corner after a surging run from midfield.
What does it mean? Bayern put Sommer frustration behind them
Yann Sommer’s stunning display in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach kept Bayern at bay and it looked like another goalkeeper had reserved his best for Nagelsmann’s side.
Voll made a series of excellent saves in the first half – indeed, he made 13 in the entire game – but once Gravenberch broke his resistance there was only going to be one winner.
Tremendous Tel
Tel is one of the hottest young properties in Europe and it is not hard to see why after this display. At the age of 17 years and 126 days he became Bayern’s youngest goalscorer in the DFB-Pokal. Expect that strike to be the first of many.
Muller still going strong
At the opposite end of the spectrum to Tel, the evergreen Muller played in his 632nd competitive match for Bayern to move level with Oliver Kahn as the highest appearance maker for the club since they were promoted to the Bundesliga in 1965.
What’s next?
Bayern return to Bundesliga action on Saturday when they travel to Union Berlin.
