The Bavarians were bouncing arm in arm to the rhythm of "Stern des Südens" after match official Bastian Dankert blew for full time. The crowd at the Allianz Arena was exuberant after the 8-0 gala over Hamburger SV. "It was probably the best Bundesliga performance this season," Karl-Heinz Rummenigge declared in praise of the team who had displayed vigour, precision and perfect timing.
"It was really fun," commented a delighted Thomas Müller, whose performance as a playmaker was "his strongest display in the league this season," according to Rummenigge. Müller set up the opener, excelling with a brilliant first touch before Arturo Vidal crashed home from 18 yards after the quarter-hour. "It eventually took care of itself," explained Müller, "Hamburg gave up at some point, which is probably normal from a psychological point of view. But we also forced it, exploited the space and scored beautiful goals."
Goals in a boisterous atmosphere
Lone striker Robert Lewandowski also lived up to his potential. The goal-getter scored his third hat-trick this season within 30 minutes, but he still wanted more. "We know we have great potential," the Pole said after his 17th, 18th and 19th league goals: "We wanted to keep scoring after every goal. It was an incredible match." Skipper Philipp Lahm was pleased: "We scored lots of goals and restricted them to very few chances."
Alaba then made it five thanks to an unselfish Müller pass. "There are enough players who'd have taken a shot themselves," commented Rummenigge. "Perhaps this assist demonstrates what I've often said: a goal isn't everything for me, I'm also pleased if I can help my team-mates," said Müller, who has set up the most goals of all Bayern pros and is now on 11 assists. The South Stand chanted "Super-Bayern" between Kingsley Coman's two goals after the hour mark, whereas Arjen Robben's shimmy was accompanied by "Oh, wie ist das schön!" ("That's just wonderful!") before the Dutchman rounded off the scoring.
'Difficult to play any better'
Boss Carlo Ancelotti was especially pleased after his 1000th competitive match as a coach. "I didn't expect it to work so well. It was top quality," the Italian praised. "Winning 8-0 in your 1000th match: you can't wish for more. I expect him to buy a round," Arjen Robben observed with a grin. Ancelotti had only once won by a higher scoreline, the Italian revealed: "9-1 with Real Madrid on one occasion."
Nobody at Bayern expects a similar goalfest in the next few weeks: "We have more difficult matches coming up," Ancelotti predicted. The Bavarians entertain Schalke in the DFB Cup last eight on Wednesday. "It's going to be a completely different match," cautioned chairman Rummenigge: "We drew the match here a few weeks ago. Schalke fully deserved it back then. We have a lot of respect for them." Lahm offered his view of what will be required over the next few matches: "Play well up front, play well when in possession, but also attack resolutely." If the men in red live up to that the meeting with Schalke will be another crowd-pleaser.
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