Berlin, Sep 11 (IANS) Jamal Musiala marked his return to Bayern Munich’s starting lineup with the opening goal as the German side sailed past Bodo/Glimt 5-0 in the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern controlled possession from the outset but struggled to break down the visitors’ five-man defensive line at the start.
Luis Diaz had the first clear chance after five minutes, meeting Joshua Kimmich’s cross with a close-range header, but goalkeeper Nikita Haikin made the save.
Kimmich saw his 22-meter effort strike the outside of the post in the 33rd minute, before Haikin denied Musiala and then Kimmich again late in the first half where the hosts registered 10 attempts to Bodo/Glimt’s one.
Haikin, who appeared to suffer a groin problem while making the latter save, was replaced by Julian Faye Lund at halftime, and Bayern needed only two minutes after the restart to break through.
Harry Kane’s attempted finish was blocked, but Musiala collected the loose ball and drove his shot into the left corner.
Kane doubled the advantage in the 61st minute, powering a header past Faye Lund from Michael Olise’s free-kick delivery.
Alphonso Davies effectively settled the contest with a 17-meter strike in the 77th minute before Olise curled in Bayern’s fourth from Lennart Karl’s pass six minutes later.
Bodo/Glimt’s task became harder when Odin Bjortuft was shown a red card for bringing down Olise near the penalty area in the 87th minute.
Olise then completed his double in stoppage time to cap a five-goal second half for Vincent Kompany’s team.
“We were better by far in the first half. We just had to be patient until the door opened,” Kane said. “The early second-half goal opened the game up and we got stronger.”
–IANS
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