Niklas Süle was beaming from ear to ear after the 3-1 victory over Bayern Leverkusen. "It's been a special day for me," the 21-year-old commented after the final whistle. He scored in his first Bundesliga match wearing FCB colours. "It was nice for me in a great atmosphere," said the centre-back.
The Allianz Arena was the perfect stage for a great start to the new campaign. The majority of the 75,000 capacity crowd unceasingly got behind the team and were soon rewarded, Bayern turning in a strong display especially in the opening stages. "I think we played very well for 30 minutes," concluded Joshua Kimmich.
Rudy 'fired up for more'
Süle and Corentin Tolisso made the Bavarians' dominance count, demonstrating the new signings have settled in. "We had a warm welcome and felt at ease from the start. It's easy to perform well then," explained Sebastian Rudy, who set up the opener with his free-kick. "I was very pleased to make my first Bundesliga appearance for Bayern, win and set up the first goal. I'm fired up for more," declared the midfielder.
Rudy set up the most shots for Bayern and was always keen to receive the ball in central midfield. Tolisso was the most active Bavarian at 77 touches of the ball (along with Arturo Vidal) and took the most shots. "We're very satisfied with them," Carlo Ancelotti praised the three recent arrivals. "We're absolutely happy we've signed these lads," sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic added.
Video assistant referee premiere
But the Bavarians resisted euphoria. A thunderstorm got hold of Munich after about 30 minutes, and "we were knocked out of our stride a bit," explained Kimmich. Proceedings were similar after the extended break, Leverkusen playing with verve, creating a number of presentable chances.
But the next premiere came at this stage. Robert Lewandowski was upended in the Leverkusen box, and main referee Tobias Stieler awarded a penalty after the video assistant referee stepped in. The Pole hitman stepped up himself and proved a cool customer, netting the third. However, Leverkusen refused to lay down and die, remaining on the front foot, with Admir Mehmedi pulling one back midway through the second half.
Bayern preserved their lead until the final whistle. "We've won and clinched the first three points. We're happy and satisfied. But of course there are things we have to improve," concluded Salihamidzic. "We have to be more compact and defend as a team. There's plenty of room for improvement," added Süle before leaving the stadium with the first three points and his first goal for FC Bayern.
Topics of this article