Jamal the hero as Bayern beat Darmstadt

Bayern signed off for the first international break of the year on a winning note by beating Darmstadt 5-2 on Saturday. Tim Skarke handed the home side the lead, with Jamal Musiala levelling the scores and Harry Kane putting Munich in front before half-time. Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Mathys Tel netted for Bayern in the second half before Oscar Vilhelmsson added a second one for the hosts.

The Bavarians started with Manuel Neuer in goal and Joshua Kimmich, Matthijs de Ligt, Eric Dier and Raphaël Guerreiro in defence. Aleksandar Pavlović and Leon Goretzka anchored a midfield featuring Leroy Sané, Thomas Müller and Musiala, with Kane up front.

Konrad Laimer, Tel, Alphonso Davies and Gnabry came on for Pavlović, Sané, Goretzka and Müller before Kane had to be replaced after clattering into the post, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting taking over.

Entertaining first half

Bayern dominated proceedings from the start, Sané firing wide from distance before Kimmich saw a shot saved. Guerreiro set up Kane for a sliding effort that went wide before Neuer denied Mathias Honsak at the other end. Goretzka fired wide, with FCB seeing a number of shots blocked.

Darmstadt took the lead against the run of play when Honsak set up the unmarked Skarke, who slotted past Neuer. Bayern struggled against the hosts' dogged defending, but Musiala was proving a real handful now and miscued a header before seeing an effort saved, but the youngster did level the scores when he slotted home following a fine solo run by Pavlović. Kimmich's pinpoint cross then invited Kane to head Bayern in front in added time. Vilhelmsson struck the bar on the stroke of half-time.

Musiala magic

Kane saw an effort saved as clear-cut chances were at a premium for a spell. But if Musiala's first-half display was hard to match, what he did in the second half was hard to believe. After Müller's quick throw-in, he wriggled his way past a number of defenders and beat keeper Marcel Schuhen.

Vilhelmsson fired a shot wide, but Musiala soon shone with another solo run and played a sublime pass to Gnabry, who slotted home moments after coming on. Musiala hit the bar, with Kane then colliding with the post trying to reach the rebound. Sebastian Polter then struck the woodwork with a shot of his own at the other end. Tel capitalised on a mix-up in the box to make it five for Bayern in added time, and Vilhelmsson's goal was little more than a footnote.

The result takes Bayern onto 60 points from 26 matches, seven short of Bayer Leverkusen, who take on Freiburg on Sunday. A number of players will be on national team duty during the international break before the Reds return to action on 30 March, when they entertain Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen