Berlin: Sadio Mane scored two goals, one from the penalty spot, as Bayern Munich beat ill-fated Bochum 7-0 to get off to a perfect start to Sunday’s Bundesliga season.
Bochum striker Simon Zoller has compiled the worst home defeat in the club’s 174-year history.
“They kicked us in the butt. It was blatant,” he said. “I have never been so destroyed.”
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann has promised the same for his side, which is aiming for an 11th consecutive Bundesliga title.
“We’re not going to sit down right now,” he told broadcaster DAZN.
“The energy, the mood of the team and the fact that everyone is giving everything … last year it wasn’t always like that, but it’s very pleasing.”
Although he had never scored a penalty in the Premier League, Mane appears to have switched from that spot in the 60th minute to become Bayern’s mandated penalty keeper to replace the departed Robert Lewandowski.
Bayern have scored 19 goals in four competitive games since the Polish player left for Barcelona late in the season.
Former Manchester City forward Leroy Sané made his first start of the season and opened the scoring four minutes later, casually curling a strike from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner.
Bayern’s energy and pace continued to haunt Bochum, and Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt celebrated his first goal in the Bayern colors after he headed in a cross in the 25th minute.
Replays showed the ball had come off De Lift’s arm, but after a brief VAR review, the goal was kept.
Kingsley Coman added a third in the 33rd minute before Mane’s opening goal in the 42nd minute.
After a Mane penalty made it 5-0, Bochum defender Christian Gamboa scored an own goal in the 69th minute, keeping the ball away from Sane’s feet.
Serge Gnabry scored in the 76th minute.
After a surprising 4-2 defeat in the corresponding match last season, Bayern regained the top spot. They are the only team in the Bundesliga to win all three of their opening games.
frankfurt can’t win
Eintracht Frankfurt’s winless start to the season continued, with the Europa League champions drawing 1–1 at home to Cologne.
Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp complained that his vision was blocked by Cologne’s Florian Dietz, who was offside, and said the equalizer should have been struck.
“Sorry, if someone is standing there, it’s offside… you can’t even see the ball,” he said.
“We were clearly the better team. We should have won the game.”
Despite the controversial goal, Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner said his team showed signs of progress.
“Today we got really close. We’re just missing a few little things. We can live with a draw.”
Glasner brought in Daichi Kamata in the 69th minute, and the Japanese midfielder made an immediate impact, scoring from a free-kick just two minutes later.
Replays showed that the free-kick was aided by a slight deflection from the Cologne captain and German defender Jonas Hector.
In the 82nd minute, Cologne’s Jan Thielmann cleverly grabbed a small clearance from Ansgar Knauf and smashed the ball into the bottom left corner.
Frankfurt, who are making their first Champions League appearance this season since losing to Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup final, have picked up two points from their opening three Bundesliga games.
