Bayern Strikes
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Bayern Munich come back to overpower Augsburg 4-1

By Guillermo Kurten

Bayern Munich's German head coach Jupp Heynckes (R) and Bayern Munich's Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben celebrate after the German first division Bundesliga football match 1 FC Augsburg vs FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, southern Germany, on April 7, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT 49 69 650050 / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT 49 69 650050 (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
Bayern Munich's German head coach Jupp Heynckes (R) and Bayern Munich's Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben celebrate after the German first division Bundesliga football match 1 FC Augsburg vs FC Bayern Munich in Augsburg, southern Germany, on April 7, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT 49 69 650050 / RESTRICTIONS: DURING MATCH TIME: DFL RULES TO LIMIT THE ONLINE USAGE TO 15 PICTURES PER MATCH AND FORBID IMAGE SEQUENCES TO SIMULATE VIDEO. == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE == FOR FURTHER QUERIES PLEASE CONTACT DFL DIRECTLY AT 49 69 650050 (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images) /
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Bayern Munich are now officially crowned Bundesliga champions or the sixth consecutive season. The visiting side opened the match looking frail, but grew into the game. The German giants came to overpower Augsburg 4-1.

Bayern open up the match shaky

Bayern Munich opened the first 45 minutes looking far from their best. From the get-go, the Bavarian giants looked generally lethargic in their play. Credit to Augsburg, though, for starting the match with a noticeable sense of drive and energy.

While the Bayern Munich starting line-up featured on the day was notably rotated by Jupp Heynckes, it should have been more than enough to take control of the match from the start. However, in the end it would take a bucket of cold water to pull Bayern out of their slump and properly into the game.

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As with many sides facing Bayern Munich, Augsburg played the majority of the first half by congesting the midfield to force errors out of the Bavarian midfield and backline. With a rotated and lackadaisical Bayern in a chunk of the first half, this proved problematic. In addition, Bayern’s attack was largely toothless and starved of chances.

Meanwhile, Augsburg were allowed to build up their offensive play. Throughout the half, Augsburg gradually began squeezing out some half-chances. Eventually, this paid off, albeit in the most bizarre of ways.

The breakthrough of the match came 18 minutes in, and in Augsburg’s favor. Joshua Kimmich gave a simple back-pass to Jerome Boateng in their own half of the pitch. The German center-back was caught completely off-guard, not anticipating the impending danger. Boateng’s pocket was promptly picked, leaving Sven Ulreich to deal with a one-on-one situation.

Niklas Sule’s face opened the match scoring. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Niklas Sule’s face opened the match scoring. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Ulreich did well to smother the initial shot, but the ball cruelly bounced away to hit Niklas Sule in the face, leading to an own goal in favor of Augsburg. Truly a brutal and unlucky way to go one-nil down. However, this does highlight Bayern’s troubles in dealing with intensive pressing teams.

Eventually, the visitors clean up their act

It seems like dumping a cold bucket of water was what Bayern needed to get into the game. After the setback, the visiting side gradually built up their own tempo over the match. Bayern’s midfield started to pass with more purpose and got forward more frequently.

Especially when the German giants are normally so used to playing in the opposition half, they were frustrated to have started so sloppily. Bayern’s mounting pressure eventually paid off. The visiting side brought the game level 31 minutes in through Corentin Tolisso.

Kimmich began by receiving the ball on the right flank from Tolisso and initially getting his cross blocked off. His second was sublime, though. The young German whipped in a wonderfully placed cross that found Tolisso in the penalty area with acres of space to work with. The Frenchman made no mistake and nodded home to make it 1-1.

The pressure continued to mount in favor of Bayern Munich. The first goal was just what they needed to build their confidence. Bayern broke the deadlock about seven minutes later through Colombian star James Rodriguez.

James celebrates his excellent goal. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images)
James celebrates his excellent goal. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

Kimmich sped in with a low ball across the Augsburg penalty box for Juan Bernat to deftly back-heel to the oncoming James to end with a tidy finish past Marwin Hitz.

The rest of the match was business as usual for the reigning champions. The pressure continued to mount on Augsburg as Bayern took a more firm grasp on the game. The third goal finally dropped just past the hour mark.

Bayern wrap up their sixth consecutive title

A headed ball nearly went out of play until James kept it in and found Arjen Robben in the box. The Dutchman lashed in a vicious volley into Hitz’s near post to make it 3-1. Bayern were now truly hitting their stride.

In the end, it was Sandro Wagner who put a bow on the match. With just about four minutes left to play in the match, Bayern earned a corner kick. Sebastian Rudy stepped up and looped in a pinpoint-accurate cross into the box.

Once again a Bayern man found himself with space in the area. Wagner calmly rose and redirected a header into the bottom-right corner of Marwin Hitz’s net.

With that, Bayern Munich, for the sixth consecutive year, became Bundesliga champions. Bayern will surely now look to improve their performance as they look the Champions League and DFB Pokal matches ahead.

Next: Bayern Munich clinch sixth straight Bundesliga title with win at Augsburg — Player grades

Coming up next is an important match-up in the second leg against Sevilla. Bayern currently hold a 2-1 aggregate lead over the Spanish side and should further that at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.