Bayern begin title defence with six-goal statement win over RB Leipzig

The Allianz Arena was teeming with excitement from the very beginning, with the Südkurve leading the support for the team, but the loudest moment on Friday night came in the 86th minute when the red No.9 appeared on the fourth official’s board. The stadium rose to its collective feet as Harry Kane departed the action to thunderous applause. His second-half hat-trick had just crowned an outstanding result for Bayern against RB Leipzig.

Three times Kane had popped up on the left of the penalty area. Three times he found the back of the net. But it wasn’t just his finishing that was so impressive. It was the way his teammates worked to create the chances throughout the 90 minutes. Their play was fluid, with short, precise passes through the centre, bold dribbles out wide, vertical balls in behind or inch-perfect chips over the top. What Vincent Kompany’s side put on show for the 75,000 crowd to kick off the new Bundesliga season was nothing less than a spectacle.

Patience was key

It wasn’t just a perfect evening on the pitch, mind. The evening sun had just set behind the main stand when a sea of red and white scarves swept across all tiers of the stadium as Manuel Neuer led his team out from the tunnel. The wait was finally over as Kane kicked off the 2025/26 Bundesliga season at 8.31pm local time.

Bayern only earned the right to play with such ease and fluidity in the second half because of their efforts in the first. They dominated proceedings but remained patient, incessantly looking for gaps in the Leipzig back line. They varied their tempo and gradually worked their way out from the back. Leipzig kept things tight, meaning the final pass had to be perfect. But Bayern’s patience and perseverance eventually paid off.

“We remained very calm,” said Kompany of his team’s approach. And when Konrad Laimer forced a good reaction save out of Péter Gulácsi from a Kane chip in behind, it felt like Bayern had cracked it. That first big chance seemed to open things up and the defending champions knew the time was right to shift up a couple of gears. Chances started to flow as Serge Gnabry saw an effort blocked and Michael Olise was denied by Gulácsi.

Quick and simple

It was now one-way traffic towards the Leipzig goal, with Bayern also ensuring any attempted counter-attack by the visitors went nowhere fast thanks to excellent counter-pressing. Kompany’s men were strong, alert and uncompromising. “The guys worked as if they’d won nothing yet. If we keep that up, we’ll win a lot of games,” the Belgian stated afterwards.

When Kane saw an over-the-shoulder volley from Kimmich’s dinked ball tipped over the crossbar midway through the first half, you felt it was only a matter of time. And that proved correct. Just two minutes later, Bayern sliced their way through the centre of the pitch with quick, simple passes between Josip Stanišić, Leon Goretzka and Gnabry, before the ball fell to Olise to smash home into the far corner on his weaker right foot.

Nominal full-backs Stanišić and Laimer were able to play high up the pitch, overloading the central areas. It worked again for the second as Kane laid off to Gnabry on the edge of the box, whose first-time flick found Luis Díaz to thunder home off the underside of the crossbar from 12 yards out. The perfect Bundesliga and home debut for our new No.14 from Colombia.

Kane the playmaker and finisher

With half-time looming, Gnabry set off through the centre once again, feinting one way before laying off to Olise to his right. The France international then did his thing, cutting inside onto his left foot, deceiving another defender and finishing coolly inside the near post. Bayern’s new inverted wing duo showing just how ruthless they can be.

Bayern needed a bit of time to get back into their flow after the break as Leipzig came out more organised. But that soon changed with the fourth goal. The Bavarians were able to make the most of space opening up with quick and clinical movement. Every pass found its target; every run was timed to perfection. It was then all down to Kane and a triple dose of ruthless finishing from the left of goal. “He really could’ve got one or two more,” said Kompany of his striker, but it wasn’t just about scoring for Kane on Friday night. His role as a playmaker, coming deep to receive the ball and distribute it out wide, also aided Bayern’s cause.

Joshua Kimmich, who was once again the beating heart of everything going forward, praised Kane’s selfless efforts. “He’s happy when he sets one up or helps in the build-up. He really helps us as a team,” said Bayern’s No.6. Those were just some of the many positive words on an evening where Bayern were able to reaffirm their positive impressions from pre-season. “It all worked out today, but there’s a lot of games to come and we’ll need every individual,” Kompany added, looking ahead to the long season. Kimmich, though, identified a difference compared to previous years: “You feel like we’ve started with a foundation. Even though we haven’t had a long pre-season, you can see that we’ve got some rhythm to our play.”

The fans also did their best to ensure that that rhythm could flourish and that the unconditional desire to win was visible on the pitch. An impressive symbiosis of passion in the stands and precision on the pitch characterised the start of the Bundesliga season from Bayern’s point of view. “A 6-0 win is definitely a statement,” summarised Kimmich, acknowledging his team’s performance and looking ahead to the DFB Cup match at Wehen Wiesbaden: “The good but also the difficult thing in football is that you need to back that up every three days. We start from 0-0 again on Wednesday.”

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