The winning start to the Champions League continued for Bayern Munich on Wednesday when they hosted Club Brugge on matchday 3. The Belgian side couldn’t cope with the intensity of Bayern and suffered a 4-0 defeat at Allianz Arena.
Vincent Kompany made a couple of changes to the starting XI as he used this game to give game time to squad players. Lennart Karl got his first Champions League start as he replaced Nicolas Jackson in the lineup. Raphael Guerreiro replaced Sacha Boey in the starting XI.
Bayern got the perfect start to the game as they have done on several occasions. They had put pressure on the visitors from the word go by pinning them in their half. The first breakthrough for Die Roten came in the fifth minute through Lennart Karl. Jonathan Tah found Karl in Brugge’s half with a simple pass. The youngster decided to breeze past the opposition by coming inside. He eventually deposited the ball in the net from the edge of the box.
Die Roten almost doubled their lead a few minutes later as Aleksandar Pavlovic's terrific effort from outside the box was parried away by Nordin Jackers. The hosts eventually got the second goal in the 14th minute through a well-knit move. Konrad Laimer and Luis Diaz combined well on the left flank before the Austrian put it on the plate for Harry Kane at the far post with a drilled square pass.
Rekordmeister were not giving any breathing space to the visitors. Karl came close to getting his second goal of the game in the 31st minute when Dayot Upamecano found him on the right flank. The youngster unleashed a powerful shot after cutting inside, but his attempt missed the target by a whisker.
Three minutes later, Luis Diaz managed to put the game beyond the Belgian side. Laimer linked up well with the Colombian winger on the left. Diaz decided to take the shot once Laimer found him inside the box. Jackers couldn’t do anything to stop the powerful shot from the former Liverpool forward. It was Diaz’s first Champions League goal in the Bavarian colours.
Bayern had a chance to score a fourth before the half-time whistle, but Diaz was denied by Jackers in the 45th minute, before the subsequent shot from Harry Kane hit the woodwork.
Bayern didn’t take foot off the pedal in the second half
The hosts showed no signs of slowing down during the second half despite being in a comfortable position. Vincent Kompany’s men continued to put pressure on Brugge by creating good chances. The visitors fared well in the second half, but it was not enough to trouble Manuel Neuer in the goal.
Bayern eventually got the reward for their efforts in the second half through a goal from Nicolas Jackson in the 79th minute. After a brilliant link-up play between Olise and Laimer on the right flank, the Austrian unleashed a shot. Laimer’s shot was blocked, but Jackson pounced on the rebound to make it 4-0 for the hosts. Bayern had limited Brugge to only two shots on target in the game.
Despite the win on Wednesday, Bayern slipped second in the points table since Paris Saint-Germain pipped them ahead on the number of goals scored. Nevertheless, the Bavarian club continues to get better under Kompany and remains the only team to win all of their games this season across the top five leagues.
Stats courtesy- Fotmob