Bayern ‘having fun scoring’ as they ‘lay down marker’

One moment early in the afternoon provided a necessary reminder that things could’ve gone quite differently for Bayern in Bochum on Sunday. The hosts looked like going ahead when Moritz Broschinski ran onto Erhan Masovic’s long pass, got past the onrushing Manuel Neuer and knocked the ball towards goal, only for Minjae Kim to live up to his nickname and produce a ‘monster’ intervention on the line. The South Korean ensured Bayern came through that frightful moment and could then take control of proceedings at the Ruhrstadion in the way that the table suggested they should.

“Bochum were aggressive, pressed high and had that chance at the start,” said head coach Vincent Kompany after the ultimately commanding 5-0 win, adding, “It was important we remained calm in those moments. Then we went and scored the goals.” Instead of an early setback, like was the case during the week in the Champions League at Barcelona, the Bundesliga leaders were able to go about their business as planned and pen back the division’s bottom side with a dominant display.

Two set pieces kick off procession

A quarter of an hour had been played when Harry Kane was fouled on the edge of the box. Michael Olise took the ensuing free-kick and produced a lovely finish over the wall to set Bayern on their way. Another infringement by the hosts not long after provided the Munich side with another dead ball, with Joshua Kimmich this time pulling out a quick chip for Jamal Musiala to flick in a rare headed goal. It was just his third with his head out of 37 career strikes in the Bundesliga. That helped boost the mood, both among supporters and the goalscorer himself. “I think headed goals are always cool. I’m not that good with my head,” Musiala said with a smile.

While it was set pieces that did the job in the first half, it was excellence from open play that helped round off the result in the second period. Musiala went back to the day job of shining with the ball at his feet as he set up Kane for the third with a lovely jinking run through the centre. A few minutes later, Leroy Sane came off the bench to pick out the far corner on his left foot, before Kingsley Coman did the same on his right in an almost mirror image. “We have fun scoring goals and want to score as many as possible in every game,” Musiala stated of Bayern’s attacking desire.

Bayern equal two records

A look at the numbers backs up the 21-year-old’s claims. Bayern have netted 29 goals already this season, which equals the Bundesliga record after eight games, set by the Munich classes of 1976/77 and 2021/22. And the Reds have also struck at least three goals in all five of their away games this league campaign, which is a streak that only one other team has ever achieved in Germany’s top flight, namely the Bayern team of 2019/20 under Hansi Flick.

Coming just four days after the 4-1 loss in Barcelona, it was a fitting answer from the Bavarians and also saw a bit of frustration released. “We wanted to lay down a marker again. It was a very focused, commanding performance. At the end of the day, we deserved to win by as much as we did and could’ve even got a few goals more. We know it’s always tough away here,” said Konrad Laimer. Kompany also backed up that fact: “We lost here last year but scored five goals today. From my point of view, a very good performance. We’re pleased.”

Mainz and Union to come

The victory took Bayern back above RB Leipzig at the Bundesliga summit after they’d temporarily gone ahead with a 3-1 win over Freiburg on Saturday. It remains tight at the top, with FCB only in first place thanks to their superior goal difference. However, the impressive display in Bochum should only serve as another intermediate goal for his team, according to Kompany. “We want to keep going just like this in the Bundesliga,” the Belgian demanded. That journey continues in six days at home to Union Berlin, but not before Bayern’s attentions turn to the DFB Cup with a visit to Mainz in the second round on Wednesday.

Get more reaction to the win in Bochum here: