5-0 at St. Pauli: Bayern train rolls on towards Champions League showdown

The historic mark of 102 goals, which FC Bayern even stretched to 105 goals in the 5-0 rout at FC St. Pauli, also commanded respect from the club’s honorary president. “It pleased me that a young lad like Lennart Karl scored the 100th goal last week – that shows FC Bayern are also equipped for the future, and the same goes for Jamal Musiala, who more than deserved the 101st goal after a long time out injured,” said Uli Hoeneß, who scored the 100th goal in the previous record season of 1971/72. Goal 101 was netted by icon Franz Beckenbauer 54 years; this time by Musiala. The record-breaking 102nd goal went to Leon Goretzka in Hamburg on Saturday evening.

“The fact Leon got the goals record is somehow typical of him because he always believes in himself,” praised coach Vincent Kompany after the match. “For me, he’s a great example to the boys. And I’m really pleased because I spoke to Mr Hoeneß yesterday about how we were closing in on this record. It’s stood for such a long time, which makes it even nicer that we’ve now claimed it. What I find good in general is that our team stands for goals. That’s just what FC Bayern and also our team are about. I think the boys should be proud of it – but of course, we carry on.” Next up: Real Madrid.

Find out who else scored for FC Bayern at St. Pauli, which player made his professional debut, and what the performance at the Millerntor means for the highly anticipated Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid in our match analysis.

“Our objective is to win everything,” Kompany had said on Friday, the day of his 40th birthday, ahead of the trip to the Millerntor. “We always try to bring our best. No matter who plays or where we play, we have the same expectation.” The Belgian made seven changes to his starting line-up from the excellent 2-1 away win at Real Madrid in midweek, with only man of the match Manuel Neuer, Konrad Laimer, Joshua Kimmich and Michael Olise keeping their places.

Aleksandar Pavlović, Dayot Upamecano and Harry Kane stayed on the bench for 90 minutes with a view to the crucial quarter-final second leg against Madrid at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. On Kane, Kompany explained: “He had a bit of a reaction after the match against Real. It’s nothing serious for the next match, but we can’t take too much risk at this time with a player like Harry.” The top goalscorer therefore got a well-deserved rest, while Serge Gnabry was absent from the squad altogether. The Germany international, who set up the opening goal for Luis Díaz in Spain, sat out because of a minor knee problem. Jonathan Tah, Díaz, Alphonso Davies and Josip Stanišić all started on the bench and came on in the second half in Hamburg.

So too did Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. The 18-year-old was named in the Bayern first-team squad for the first time and came on after 84 minutes for his debut. Ndiaye joined in the winter from Gambinos Stars Africa, a football academy in Gambia associated with Red&Gold Football, the joint venture between FC Bayern and Los Angeles FC (more info). The nimble attacking midfielder used his brief appearance to show his quality on the ball in a number of duels.

Musiala opens the scoring

But back to the match. Ndiaye replaced Musiala, who gave Bayern an early lead at the Millerntor with a header from Laimer’s deft cross in the ninth minute. The 23-year-old also netted the opener in the 1-0 win at St. Pauli in November 2024. Musiala enjoyed an impressive game overall: he was involved in much of the attacking play and set up the fourth goal for Nicolas Jackson (65’).

“It felt very good,” summarised Musiala after only his third Bundesliga start of the campaign. “It was a good game, I was well involved, got my goal. I’m pleased with my performance,” he added. “Every minute I can get helps me. I saw today that I’ve taken a step forward. There are still a lot of steps I can take, but it’s good progress. I feel that my foot is loosening up, it’s also about patience. I feel a lot better now.”

The Munich men were the dominant and better team from the start against the relegation battlers, and could’ve extended their lead earlier with the lively Jackson (11’) and Musiala (27’) both hitting the woodwork. St. Pauli had just one real opportunity in the first half through Mathias Pereira Lage, who had a free shot at goal in the penalty area – but Minjae Kim, who formed the centre-back pairing with Hiroki Ito, intervened with a last-ditch sliding challenge. The stats at half-time showed 11-4 attempts, 4-1 big chances and 70 percent possession in favour of Bayern.

Four goals in second half

After the break, Kompany’s side, with Musiala and Raphaël Guerreiro occupying the attacking centre and Tom Bischof enjoying plenty of space on the left, stepped it up. What was particularly noticeable was that Bayern repeatedly broke the St. Pauli defensive line with chipped balls over the top. In the 53rd minute, Goretzka bagged the record goal to make it 2-0 with a left-footed volley after Kimmich’s free kick was deflected.

“The coach always says that we’re not even capable of turning it on and off – we just stay ‘on’,” said Goretzka at full time on the team’s mindset. “Of course, a lot goes into it; many little things come together, and eventually that momentum builds, like a locomotive that starts rolling. And we just want to keep it rolling.” Neuer also enjoyed this historic 102nd goal of the season, celebrating energetically with the substitutes behind his goal. Even though there are still three titles to play for in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League, Kompany’s men have already secured their place in the history books.

But it took just a minute for the record to be extended, as the in-form Olise, who tormented his opponents all evening, made it 3-0 with a strike from distance. The France international has now been directly involved in 30 league goals this season (12 goals, 18 assists), second only to teammate Kane (36). It’s the first time since data collection began in the 2004/05 campaign that two Bayern men have hit the 30-goal involvement mark in a single Bundesliga campaign – only Edin Dzeko (32) and Grafite (33) previously achieved this during Wolfsburg’s title-winning 2008/09 season.

The mistakes in St. Pauli’s play added up as the game went on, allowing the record champions to increase the scoreline. The impressive Jackson made it 4-0 on 65 minutes, before setting up Guerreiro for the fifth goal shortly before the end.

After the final whistle, the players joined arms in front of the away supporters, who loudly chanted “Europapokal” (“European Cup”). The message was clear: after a perfect evening at the Millerntor – a goals record, an emphatic win, an extended lead at the top of the table, a debut for Ndiaye and a second league goal of the season for Musiala – the attention immediately turns to the showdown against Real.

“It’ll be a huge challenge against Real Madrid,” said Goretzka. “We’re playing at home, where we feel very comfortable and the opponents usually don’t. We’ve put ourselves in a good position thanks to the first leg, but there’s still work to be done.” The Bayern locomotive will hopefully continue travelling through Europe after the Real match – collecting more records through to the end of the season.