Five goals against Hoffenheim a clear sign ahead of demanding days

In Mönchengladbach, four days earlier, scoring goals was perhaps the only shortcoming on a wintery evening. However, in the light snowfall at the Allianz Arena, 630 kilometres south-west, the goals rained down against Hoffenheim on Wednesday night. In front of 75,000 spectators, FC Bayern rounded off the Hinrunde, the first half of the Bundesliga season, with a 5-0 victory over a dejected and unthreatening TSG, whose winless run in all competitions extended to nine games.

Decided after just 26 minutes

Moreover, the contest was already all but over after 26 minutes: Leroy Sané (6th minute) with a powerful strike after good work from Thomas Müller, Raphaël Guerreiro with the instep after a one-two with Harry Kane (12’) and Kane himself with his 16th goal of the season and 27th consecutive penalty quickly expelled any doubts out of the cold January air in Munich. “It was much more relaxed for us in the stands tonight than at Gladbach,” rejoiced CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. The visitors were in danger of a humiliation as the buoyant Südkurve broke into chants of “Deutscher Meister wird nur der FCB” (“Only FCB will be German champions”) after just half an hour.

“We defended aggressively and played well, they didn’t need a big talk,” said a pleased head coach Vincent Kompany. A beaming Christoph Freund added: “It was fun. The boys showed real joy,” described the sporting director. “I think once this team get going, like they did tonight, when the first two shots went in, then it’s obviously fun and everything comes much more easily. But you can see that the boys are enjoying themselves and there’s great energy on the pitch. It’s been a very good start to 2025 – couldn’t have been better.”

Magnetic pull towards goal

An aggressive, effervescent Bayern, who developed a pull towards the visitors' goal like a compass needle in the direction of the earth's magnetic field, almost went into the break with an even bigger lead. Hoffenheim desperately reshuffled their midfield and ordered an attacking player to close gaps. That didn’t help much, mind you, as Kevin Akpoguma blocked a shot from Kingsley Coman at point-blank range and a Müller header was cleared by Arthur Chaves centimetres in front of the goal line. “We started similarly to how we did at Gladbach, only we scored the opening goal earlier,” analysed Müller. “We had a few situations today where we had space. We were lively, energetic, persistent and won balls back. That’s how we’ve been for weeks, actually. We’re managing to sustain our performance over 90 minutes increasingly often.”

Any bit of courage that the visitors might have managed to summon at the interval lasted just 180 seconds. Substitute Mathys Tel crossed for the impressive Sané, who turned it in to make it 4-0. When sub Serge Gnabry finished off a fine combination involving Guerreiro, Sané and Alphonso Davies, who made his 150th Bundesliga appearance, the score stood at 5-0 after 66 minutes. And Jamal Musiala, whose creativity was so missed in Mönchengladbach, even stayed on the subs’ bench until the 80th minute, wrapped up in a blanket. “We have a lot of good players and they showed joy today,” said Kompany afterwards.

Moments of magic in the snow

Bayern were enjoying themselves now and there were even some moments of magic in the light snowfall. Kane attempted a bicycle kick and Guerreiro threw the ball onto the back of an unwitting Michael Olise and got it back himself in a fancy throw-in trick. “I think we sent out a clear signal for the season again today,” said Sané, who got to come off a few minutes early to a standing ovation. “It’s great fun and I think the fans notice that too.” Manuel Neuer also received a round of applause the one time he was called into action, turning Finn Becker’s shot over the bar. The statistics were more than clear: 25-5 attempts on goal, 48-6 touches of the ball in the opposition penalty area in the first of six matches in the space of 18 days.

“The 5-0 scoreline shows how hungry we are and we have to keep hold of that,” demanded Kompany at full time after his biggest Bundesliga home win as Bayern boss. “The mood in the team is great and we just want to keep going,” underlined double goalscorer Sané. Preferably on Saturday afternoon, when VfL Wolfsburg visit the Allianz Arena. “We’re not afraid of the upcoming games,” said Dreesen in closing.

All the post-match reaction: