The 69,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena on an unseasonably chilly afternoon watched Bayern make light of the persistent rain and slippery surface to pummel the Rostock goal in the first half-hour, although Toni’s 14th-minute tap-in for his first Bundesliga goal was scant reward for the Reds’ dominance of the opening period.
The home side took a breather after the whirlwind start but upped the pace again in the second period, only for Toni to betray a slight lack of match sharpness by failing to bury two excellent chances.
That was rendered academic on 66 minutes when Klose mopped up after Rostock keeper Stefan Wächter spilled a Philipp Lahm drive, and former Bremen man Klose took his career total to 99 top flight goals with a firm header five minutes from time as Bayern comfortably ushered the game to its close to register maximum points from their opening league fixture.
Star-studded line-up
Toni’s inclusion from the start was the one major selection surprise when the teams were announced half-an-hour before kick-off. “He’ll only manage an hour,” coach Ottmar Hitzfeld explained, “and after our problems in the Cup, I’d rather have him earlier than later in the game.” As it turned out, the Italy superstar covered a lot more than a mere 60 minutes.
Despite the continuing absence of Lukas Podolski, Jan Schlaudraff, Willy Sagnol and Valerien Ismael, the line-up had a first-choice look to it, with captain Oliver Kahn in goal and Martin Demichelis partnering Lucio in a rearguard featuring Marcell Jansen and Lahm on the left and right respectively.
Ze Roberto and Mark van Bommel formed a formidable shield in front of the back four with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery alternating on the flanks, providing the service for the all-new front pairing of Toni and Klose. Perhaps the most disappointed man was Hamit Altintop, relegated to the bench after featuring and earning plaudits in almost all the club’s pre-season friendlies.
Toni on target
Hansa keeper Wächter, a summer arrival from Hamburg, was the busiest man on the park in the first 30 minutes, saving well from Van Bommel (2), Ribery (4, 14), Schweinsteiger (24), Jansen (24) and most impressively from Klose when the striker was clean through after 28 minutes.
But the agile shot-stopper was powerless to prevent Toni opening his Bayern account after 14 minutes when the big Italian played a quicksilver one-two with Klose, the Germany man unselfishly squaring from the corner of the six-yard box for his new strike partner to net from close range.
To their credit, promoted Hansa never lost their shape and launched a series of forays into the Bayern half as the Bavarians eased off in the period before the break, but Kahn’s goal was never seriously threatened and the sides turned round with the men in red a goal to the good.
Miro the poacher
Toni, taken by surprise when Schweinsteiger’s free-kick sailed through a crowd of players in the first attacking move after the restart, steered the ball inches wide of the far post, before Lucio and Van Bommel warmed Wächter’s gloves with the hour mark approaching.
The best chance of the lot fell to the Italian when Wächter misjudged Ribery’s floated free-kick, but the World Cup winner glanced his header wide of the empty net. However, the home side did punish another Wächter error when the keeper spilled what should have been a routine take from Lahm’s poke at goal, Klose gleefully nipping in to double the advantage.
The Rostock number one redeemed himself with a fine save from Schweinsteiger, who gave way to Altintop for the last quarter of an hour, before Jose Ernesto Sosa played a first ten minutes in the Bundesliga in place of Ribery. Klose then set the seal on an enjoyable afternoon with a trademark header from Lahm’s perfect cross after 85 minutes to hand his side a morale-boosting start to the new campaign.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
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