Bayern Munich kicked off their bid for an unprecedented fourth straight Bundesliga title by cruising past hapless Hamburg SV 5-0 on Friday.
In the opening match of the Bundesliga season, defender Medhi Benatia scored the first goal by heading in a free kick from Xabi Alonso in the 27th minute.
Bayern dominated the match, but Hamburg held on well until falling apart in the second half.
Photo: AFP
Thomas Mueller scored twice after the break and Robert Lewandowski and newcomer Douglas Costa added the other goals.
“We are still hungry despite all the success we’ve had,” Mueller said. “We kept on playing even after we scored the second. We want to keep this mentality.”
Hamburg just avoided relegation last season in a playoff and hardly created any chances against the defending champion, which had nearly 80 percent of the possession.
“We have to send the right signals, we don’t want anyone to think they can compete with us,” Bayern director Matthias Sammer said.
Having conceded 30 goals in its last five league visits to Munich, Hamburg began cautiously, using six defenders and closing the space.
“It was very difficult, they only defended but we played better in the second half,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
Guardiola is in the final season of his three-year deal and has been vague about his future.
Lewandowski used a poor clearance to double Bayern’s lead in the 52nd minute and then fed Mueller for his first in the 69th.
Mueller rounded Hamburg’s goalkeeper Rene Adler as Hamburg’s game plan started unravelling.
Mueller scored his second in the 72nd minute when he connected with a cross from Douglas Costa. The speedy winger caught a difficult ball on the right wing in his first Bundesliga match and sent a perfect cross with the outside of his left foot for Mueller to head in.
Costa then used some poor defending from Hamburg to score his first Bayern goal in the 87th minute, driving home from just outside the box.
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