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Bayern Munich continued their unbeaten start to the season with a comfortable 3-0 victory over south Germany neighbours SC Freiburg in Bundesliga.
Several strong individual performances and plenty of impressive team play takes them up to third in the table – just two points behind Leverkusen in top spot.
Despite a balanced opening 10 minutes, in which the away side started strongly, Freiburg found themselves on unequal terms with Bayern inside the opening 15 minutes thanks to a freak goal from Kingsley Coman.
The Frenchman was dribbling casually down the right when he sent a looping ball catching the Freiburg goalkeeper completely unaware. It could just have easily been a cross, and the Frenchman looked a little guilty to have scored it.
An over-eagerness for Freiburg to get themselves back into the game cost them a second goal 13 minutes later.
Leroy Sane dribbled dizzily into the box, tapped the ball to Harry Kane who gave it right back to him to fire into an empty net from point blank range.
Sane almost got a second and Bayern’s third, when he put the ball away after picking up a well timed ball from Coman, but VAR judged it to have been just offside, and Freiburg were granted a reprieve.
The second half was, if anything, more one-sided than the first. Still it took until the 87th minute for Bayern to seal the game.
After picking up the ball on the right, Coman ran with it into the box, cut onto his left and drilled it into the roof of the goal, for a comfortable home win.
Talking point – Composure and Creativity
Bayern might not have needed to make it out of second gear in their seventh league game of the season, but the ease with which they put Freiburg to the sword should not be allowed to overshadow some of the splendid creativity that was on display through the 90 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel’s side played, at times, telepathic football, and enjoyed some sumptuous pass and move moments, without stifling the creativity and imagination of their most talented individuals.
Sane is a genius, Coman a magician, and the rest of the team know how to help those two players do what they do best.
Player of the match – Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)
A magical performance from a magician of a player. Coman was involved in almost every move Bayern made across the 90 minutes. The Frenchman will have to answer questions about whether he intended his first goal, but it was struck beautifully and a masterful indication of how well he can hit the ball. It also gave his team-mates confidence and from then on the game spent little time on the opposite flank.
He was even more the star of the second half than the first: making mazy runs, dribbling past defenders with ease, putting countless pinpoint passes through. He deserved to double up, and there was no doubt that he meant his second strike. An assist might be given to Konran Laimer, but Coman made it himself.
Player ratings
BAYERN: Ullrich 5; Upamecano 5, Minjae 5, Kimmich 6, Goretzka 7, Kane 7, Sane 8, Coman 9, Davies 7, Muller 8, Mazraoui 7… Subs: Choupo-Moting 5, Laimer 7, Tel 7, Kratzig 6, Musiala 6
FREIBURG: Atubolu 5; Lienhart 4, Gulde 4; Eggestein 4; Holer 5, Kubler 5, Sallai 6, Sildillia 6; Grifo 5, Rohl 6, Doan 7… Subs: Weisshaupt 5, Adamu, Philipp 5, Breunig 5, Rudlin 4
Match H=highlights
9′ – GOAL! BAYERN 1 – 0 FREIBURG And that’s the early breakthrough for Bayern. Kingsley Coman hits an absolute peach from distance, that sails into the Freiburg. It was a tight angle and he made that one entirely himself. Whether he meant it as a cross or a shot is another matter.
43’ – GOAL DISALLOWED A reprieve for Freiburg from what would have been Sane’s second, and it would have been almost as good as his first. He picked up a perfectly weighted ball from Coman, ran with it into the Freiburg net, held it up briefly before hammering it home. VAR judged him to have just been offside. Barely a sock’s width in that.
85 – GOAL! BAYERN 3 – 0 FREIBURG That’ll do it, and it had to be Kingsley Coman. He’s been so good on the right this evening. Receiving the ball on the right, he made a beeline for the box, cuts onto his left and hits a beauty into the roof of the net. No doubting he meant that one.
Kingsley Coman (l.) and Alphonso Davies – FC Bayern
Image credit: Getty Images
Key stats
- Busting the curse of seven. Before this evening, Bayern had lost the seventh game of the season in three of the last four years.
- Goals guaranteed. Bayern have now scored in every game since the start of last season except one.
- Stats don’t lie. Bayern managed 23 shots against Freiburg – 6 of which were on target, with the visitors managing just 2, neither of which forced a save.
