Five-star Bayern begin title defence in style

FC Bayern beat VfB Stuttgart 5-1 in Friday evening’s Bundesliga opener. Dayot Upamecano handed Bayern the lead after 20 minutes before Josha Vagnoman levelled the scores early in the second half, but Michael Olise quickly restored Bayern’s lead and Vagnoman soon slipped and put through his own goal. Vincent Kompany’s team put the game to bed in the closing stages, with Aleksandar Pavlović and Luis Díaz adding gloss to the scoreline with assists from Ismael Saibari.

Munich started with Manuel Neuer in goal and Konrad Laimer, Upamecano, Minjae Kim and Alphonso Davies in a back four. Joshua Kimmich and Pavlović anchored a midfield featuring Olise, Nathaniel Brown and Luis Díaz, with Harry Kane up front. Saibari, Josip Stanišić, Jonathan Tah, Tom Bischof and Lennart Karl came on for Brown, Davies, Kim, Pavlović and Kane in the second half.

Upamecano opens

It was a high-octane first half and the bold visitors had the first chance when Tiago Tomás hit the bar. Olise’s free-kick too hit the woodwork, but Kimmich’s corner found Upamecano, who flicked it on to put Bayern in front and open their account for 2026/27.

Bayern upped the pressure, with Stuttgart goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow making a strong save one-on-one against Díaz. Olise’s curler went inches wide before Bredlow denied Brown, Laimer and Olise, keeping it 1-0 at half-time.

Goals start flowing

Stuttgart levelled out of the blue after Neuer made a fine save against Jeff Chabot, but Vagnoman found the net on the follow-up. Bayern responded three minutes later, Kimmich’s pass inviting Olise to slot past Bredlow. Vagnoman tried to clear a Davies square but slipped and put through his own goal only moments after to make it 3-1.

The reigning champions had the ball in the back of the net again when Olise sidestepped a defender and fired past Bredlow, but the goal was chalked off for a marginally offside position. Pavlović saw an effort saved, but sub Saibari beat his marker and set up the midfielder for a tap-in. It was five in added time when Saibari teed up Díaz to round off a winning start to the Bundesliga campaign.

The Bavarians will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to face Osnabrück in the first DFB Cup round.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen