Bayern Munich kicked off matchday 24 of the ongoing 2024/25 Bundesliga season on Friday when they visited the MHP Arena to take on mid-table side VfB Stuttgart.
Despite falling a goal behind after 34 minutes, a far-from-full-strength Bayern rallied to level the score just before the half-time whistle thanks to a splendid piece of finishing from Michael Olise. In the second half, both Leon Goretzka and Kinglsey Coman reaped the rewards of some excellent pressing by scoring Die Roten’s second and third goals, respectively.
From a highly entertaining game that ebbed and flowed and had more than its share of unforced errors, let’s take a look at some interesting takeaways.
Show of character from Bayern to bounce back from early setback
For the majority of the first half, Stuttgart actually appeared to be the better team. Although there was an element of luck in the passage of play that led to their goal when Leroy Sané slipped, there was no luck involved at the end of the move when former Bayern player Angelo Stiller beat Manuel Neuer from 25 yards out in minute 34.
After falling behind, it took Bayern a while to regroup, but they did well to level the score before the interval. After the interval, Die Roten gave a much-improved performance despite having less possession. During the second half, Bayern created several goal-scoring chances and scored twice while preventing the hosts from registering any shots on target. Coming back from a goal down on the road, without Joshua Kimmich and Dayot Upamecano in the lineup, the team showed great character on Friday.