Munich, Berlin, Germany (Weltexpress). Not only at the end it’s FC Bayern up on top again, but straight from the beginning. And not only in the league but also in the first game that counts.
The first match of the 55th season (regarding men) of the premier league Bundesliga is over. In Munich, after a quarter-hour opening ceremony, a few memorial seconds with a final applause and 92 effective minutes of play, Bayern beat Bayer 3:1 in a low-tension and rainy encounter with 75,000 spectators at kick-off.
At least in the second half, watching TV it looked as if only a few of them were still in the stadium. No wonder as it was flashing and thundering, hailing and raining, and a wind blowing that was always stronger than the assault of the ball-kicking employees of two of these companies whose business was mainly soccer, as you are made to belief.
Until the break
In the 9th minute of the game, Dominik Kohr saw yellow. New entry Sebastian Rudy kicked the dormant ball onto the head of another new arrival, Niklas Süle, who easily prolonged the ball for the FCB straight into the goal. The Bayer players did not seem to be daunted, however, even if they made nothing out of their chance in the 12th minute. Admir Mehmedi failed standing free in front of Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich. Then Arturo (Air) Vidal tried to score from quite a distance in the 16th, but a header from Corentin Tolisso, who is also one of many new Teammates in Munich, had more success making it 2-0 after Vidal’s corner in the 18th minute.
Ulreich stopped a shot with his foot (21rd) and on the other side the post (23rd) saved Bayer Leverkusen. Thomas Müller missed for Bayern (27th). After all, the hosts were able to manage their 4:3:3-system. They dominated at the beginning and held out to the end of the first 45 minutes. The 4:4:2-system of the guests was less obvious. Due to bad weather it was difficult to play and look around – or what else could it have been?
After the break
The half-time break lasted a good half an hour. Then the game went on and the “factory eleven” pressed with two new players, which resulted in possibilities by Kevin Volland (46th) and Karim Bellarabi (47th). But the attackers barked and did not bite.
They misbehaved, however. Charles Aranguiz fowled Robert Lewandowski in the penalty area, and aroused a lot of fuss. At the request of video referee Jochen Drees and thus thanks to video proof, Stieler showed Aranguiz yellowand pointed to the penalty point. Lewandowki turned up and scored the 3-0. That was it. FC Bayern stepped down a gear. Leverkusen had nothing to lose and went full speed. They tried hard, but both the replaced Julian Brandt (56th and 57th) and Kohr after counter (57th) failed.
Vidal saw yellow (63rd) and we at the Hofbräuhaus in Berlin with beer and pretzel the honorary goal by Mehmedi (65th) as well as a great chance for the substitute of Thomas Müller since the 61st minute, Arien Robben shortly before the final whistle in the 91st.
What remains?
Two new entries and the introduced video proof paved the way for Bayern to victory. Bayern Munich is also the team for the championship in the most boring league of the world and Bayer simply mediocre. But this is true for many teams in this Bundesliga.
Line-up
FC Bayern München: Ulreich – Alaba, Hummels (62nd Rafinha), Süle, Kimmich – Vidal, Rudy, Tolisso – Ribery (77th Coman), Lewandowski, Müller (61st Robben)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Leno – Wendell, S. Bender (46th Dragovic), Tah, Henrichs – Bailey (46th Brandt), Aránguiz (60th Kampl), Kohr, Bellarabi – Mehmedi, Volland
Referee: Tobias Stieler
Cards: Vidal, Kohr, Aránguiz
Spectators: 75.000
Weather: Thunderstorm and pouring rain, in Munich and Berlin
