Eintracht Frankfurt 1-6 Bayern Munich: Mane and Co ensure Lewandowski isn’t missed in emphatic opening win

Europa
League
winners
Frankfurt
seemed
a
tricky
first
opponent
for
the
champions,
but
Julian
Nagelsmann’s
side
swept
them
aside
in
sensational
style.

Having
defeated
RB
Leipzig
5-3
in
the
DFL-Supercup
in
their
first
competitive
match
after
Robert
Lewandowski’s
departure
last
week,
Bayern
were
five
up
by
half-time
on
Friday
–
Joshua
Kimmich,
Benjamin
Pavard,
Jamal
Musiala
and
Serge
Gnabry
joining
Mane
on
the
scoresheet.

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Manuel
Neuer’s
sloppiness
gifted
Randal
Kolo
Muani
a
consolation,
yet
it
was
a
minor
blip
in
a
supreme
Bayern
display,
and
Musiala
capped
things
off
with
his
second
late
on.

Bayern
had
full
control
by
the
10th
minute.
Kimmich
fooled
Kevin
Trapp
with
a
long-range
free-kick
that
clipped
in
off
the
right-hand
upright,
before
Pavard
lashed
in
his
second
goal
in
as
many
games.

Juventus-linked
Filip
Kostic
teed
up
a
golden
chance
for
Frankfurt
to
drag
themselves
back
into
contention,
only
for
Tuta
to
head
against
the
woodwork,
which
then
denied
Bayern
a
third
after
Gnabry’s
poor
pass
sold
Thomas
Muller
short
in
front
of
goal.

Another
glorious
Eintracht
chance
went
begging
due
to
Jesper
Lindstrom’s
profligacy,
but
Bayern
had
their
third
after
Trapp
had
parried
Musiala’s
effort
onto
the
crossbar
–
Mane
stooping
low
to
head
in
Gnabry’s
cross.

Mane
turned
architect
for
Bayern’s
fourth
six
minutes
later,
drawing
out
the
Frankfurt
defence
and
finding
Muller,
who
squared
for
Musiala,
and
it
was
five
before
half-time
when
Gnabry
squeezed
home.

Kristijan
Jakic,
one
of
three
half-time
Frankfurt
substitutes,
thought
he
had
pulled
a
goal
back
in
the
56th
minute,
yet
it
was
disallowed
for
offside.

Neuer
hardly
covered
himself
in
glory
in
that
incident,
and
Bayern’s
captain
was
entirely
at
fault
eight
minutes
later
when
he
was
bundled
off
the
ball
by
Kolo
Muani.

Musiala
had
the
final
say,
though,
tucking
in
after
Leroy
Sane’s
exquisite
pass
to
add
further
gloss
to
a
statement
win.

What
does
it
mean?
No
Lewy,
no
problem

Bayern
have
now
gone
unbeaten
in
their
opening
league
fixture
for
11
straight
seasons
–
they
went
on
to
win
the
title
in
each
of
the
previous
10.

Although
Bayern
have
lost
more
times
away
to
Frankfurt
than
they
have
any
other
team
(23),
they
were
in
top
gear
from
the
off,
and
there
was
never
any
danger
of
another
defeat.

Lewandowski
may
have
gone,
but
Bayern’s
attack
–
spearheaded
by
Mane
and
the
evergreen
Muller,
who
matched
Hans
Georg
Schwarzenbeck’s
416
Bundesliga
outings
for
Bayern
(the
second-most
among
outfield
players)
and
finished
with
two
assists
–
looks
scintillating.

Magical
Mane
off
to
a
flyer

In
five
of
his
six
Premier
League
campaigns
for
Liverpool,
Mane
scored
in
his
first
away
game
of
the
season,
including
on
his
Reds
debut
in
a
4-3
win
at
Arsenal
in
August
2016.

The
Senegal
forward
always
seemed
likely
to
start
fast
in
Germany,
and
he
has
done
just
that.
He
is
the
first
player
to
score
in
his
maiden
Bundesliga
away
game
for
Bayern
since
Joshua
Zirkzee
did
so
against
Freiburg
in
December
2019,
while
Mario
Mandzukic,
in
2012,
was
the
last
Bayern
player
to
score
in
his
first
two
appearances
for
the
club
in
all
competitions.

Few
home
comforts
for
Frankfurt

Friday’s
game
was
the
ninth
example
of
an
away
team
scoring
five
before
half-time
in
Bundesliga
history,
and
Bayern
are
responsible
for
four
of
those
occasions.

But
in
truth,
they
were
helped
by
a
woeful
defensive
display
from
their
hosts.
Frankfurt
picked
up
just
19
points
at
home
(W4
D7
L6)
last
season,
bettering
only
the
two
relegated
sides
in
Arminia
Bielefeld
and
Greuther
Furth,
and
Oliver
Glasner
must
strike
a
better
balance.

What’s
next?

Bayern
host
Wolfsburg
in
their
second
Bundesliga
game
of
the
season,
while
Frankfurt
travel
to
Helsinki
for
the
small
matter
of
facing
Champions
League
winners
Real
Madrid
in
the
Super
Cup.