FCB beat fan club 8-1 in Dream Game

There was a real party atmosphere in Oberfranken for Dream Game 2017. A noisy drum band, 60 samba dancers and an opening show involving 160 people ensured a thrilling welcome for Red Residenz Coburg 01 and FC Bayern on Sunday afternoon. The tenth edition of the match between the record champions and one of their numerous fan clubs was another special occasion which resulted in a clear 8-1 victory for FCB after 90 minutes.

Fabian Benko (2), Renato Sanches (2), Sebastian Rudy, Timothy Tillman, Arturo Vidal and Kwasi Wriedt scored the goals for the Reds in front of 10,500 spectators in Coburg, with Tim Knoch scoring the consolation goal for the hosts. “I’ve always believed the club must be close to its fans, that was the idea and it’s evolved into an enormous event,” declared Bayern president Uli Hoeneß.

The fan club actually hit the underside of the bar in the third minute of the match but after that it was all Bayern, and they took the lead through Benko shortly after. FCB, who rested stars such as Robert Lewandowski, Franck Ribéry and Corentin Tolisso, continued to dominate but were denied on a number of occasions by the many bodies in the Coburg defence or goalkeeper Rene Wicht. Eventually Sanches made it 2-0 in the 26^th minute and then Benko bagged his second shortly before half-time.

Both sides made several substitutions at half-time but that didn’t alter the dominance of the German champions. Rudy, Sanches, Tillman, Vidal and Wriedt finished off the job in the second period before Knoche’s goal in the closing stages which caused great celebration among the Coburg fans. The result was secondary, though, because the players from the fan club and the fans in the stadium had a day to remember, and one which was crowned with a firework display.