Reds make short work of Leverkusen

FC Bayern beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Friday night, getting off to a perfect start to an intense phase of midweek matches. Leroy Sané, Jamal Musiala and Sadio Mané handed Bayern a comfortable three-goal lead in the first half, Thomas Müller rounding off the scoreline in the closing stages.

The German record champions lined up with Manuel Neuer in goal and Benjamin Pavard, Dayot Upamecano, Matthijs de Ligt and Alphonso Davies in a back four. Joshua Kimmich and Marcel Sabitzer anchored a midfield featuring Sané, Musiala and Mané, with Müller up front. Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch came on for Sabitzer, Mané, Sané, Upamecano and Musiala in the second half.

First-half dominance

The 75,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw Bayern get off to a good start, Sané finding the net with the help of a deflection after two minutes. Bayern were in the driving seat, Kimmich seeing a free-kick go wide, but Musiala soon doubled the lead after a one-two with Müller.

Leverkusen's Robert Andrich aimed wide before Davies saw an effort blocked. Sabitzer fired over before Neuer denied Moussa Diaby and Andrich's shot landed on the roof of the net. Sané beat keeper Lukas Hradecky with a low finish, and the sides turned round with Munich three goals to the good.

Plain sailing

The champions went straight back onto the front foot after the restart, Hradecky making two fine saves to deny Mané and de Ligt. Mané soon found the net but the goal was disallowed for a foul.

Bayern shifted down a gear now, and Neuer denied Sardar Azmoun before Gnabry tested Hradecky at the other end. The Leverkusen keeper slipped and mishit a pass, leaving Müller to apply the icing on the cake with Munich's fourth. Goretzka found the side-netting, and match official Tobias Stieler blew for full-time.

The result means Bayern have 15 points from eight matches, moving to second place in the table overnight. The Bavarians will be back in action next Tuesday when they entertain Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen