In the stadium of its first Champions League triumph, FC Bayern got off to a powerful start in the new premier class season with the brilliant, noble technician Leroy Sané. The Munich team won 2-0 (1-0) on Wednesday evening after a solid performance at Inter Milan and, after the 19th win in the opening round, can look forward to the big showdown with FC Barcelona in the coming week from a position of strength.
It’s ready for the quick and explosive reunion in the Allianz Arena with world footballer Robert Lewandowski, who switched to Barça in the summer and scored several goals again in the evening against Viktoria Pilsen. In the stands of the legendary San Siro, CEO Oliver Kahn and sports director Hasan Salihamidžić celebrated Sané’s goal in the 25th minute 21 years after the final victory as a player against FC Valencia.
Sané filigree
The national striker, who sprinted into the depths, volleyed a precise, long ball from Joshua Kimmich with his left foot, rounded Inter goalkeeper André Onana and, to crown it all, pushed the ball over the goal line with his right foot.
The own goal by Inter captain Danilo D’Ambrosio (66th) in front of around 58,951 spectators forced Sané after a strong double interaction with Kingsley Coman.
In the best football atmosphere, Bayern only needed a few minutes to arrive in the new Champions League season. With a lot of pressure, the German record champions worked their way towards the penalty area. Joshua Kimmich was the first to try to overcome Onana (3rd), a little later it was Thomas Müller’s turn (8th). The Inter goalkeeper replaced Samir Handanovic for the Nerazzurri, who started with the unremarkable international player Robin Gosens.
Bayern with a strong direct game
Nayerm trainer Julian Nagelsmann, who watched the triumph as a fan on the sofa in 2001, conducted his professionals in the black shirt on the sidelines energetically as usual. Kahn had confirmed shortly before the kick-off at DAZN: “Obviously, we want to try to win the Champions League every season.”
The fact that the opponents in the premier class can have a different format than in the Bundesliga was only rudimentarily shown by the Milanese, who were weakening in Serie A. Bayern repeatedly played strong direct games against the back five, after a combination via Sané and Sadio Mané Onana had to stretch quite a bit to deflect Müller’s shot over the goal (23′).
Dzeko checks Neuer
Then Kimmich and Sané scored the opening goal together. In particular, driver Kimmich, who, together with Marcel Sabitzer, steered the game with a lot of overview, showed his strong form again in the World Cup year.
At most, Munich had to be accused of not having converted the superiority into more goals in good time. Alphonso Davies, Müller and Sabitzer missed the second goal with a triple chance (37th).
At the beginning of the second half, Inter gave up their own passivity forced by the score, the former Bundesliga professional Edin Dzeko tried in the 50th minute against national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from close range.
In this short phase, Bayern allowed themselves to lose their concentration – but with a slight increase in tempo, they were still able to easily free themselves from the Inter pressure. Onana almost slipped a deflected Kimmich cross through his hands into the goal (65′) before Sané and Coman combined in the Inter penalty area and forced Bayern’s second goal.
