[ad_1]
Positive start after positive test: Led by final hero Kingsley Coman, defending champion Bayern Munich had a dream start to the Champions League season despite the crown vortex surrounding Serge Gnabry. 59 days after Lisbon’s triumph, the strong triple winner literally dismantled Atlético de Madrid’s ugly rival to 4-0 (2-0), and immediately sent the next challenge to the elite of European football.
Final hero Coman scored twice for the defending champion
With two goals (28th and 72nd) and the submission of the second goal by Leon Goretzka (41st), Zauberfüßchen Coman was the guarantor of Munich’s 17th victory in the premier class. Corentin Tolisso (66th) took charge of the break with a forceful shot from 25 meters to a corner.
The brilliant start to a long nickel duel with the nasty Spaniards was a first big step towards group victory and the round of 16. Because Bayern’s other opponents in season A, Salzburg and Lok Moscow, are international lightweights.
But the Gnabry case lay like a shadow on this glamorous football night. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge emphasized that the positive crown test for the national player on Tuesday brought to mind the “growing danger for football.” “We have to sharpen the senses of the players again so that we can come out without much damage,” the Munich CEO said on Sky: “Another lockdown would be a drama for football.”
Hansi Flick also warned: “We have to deal with this more intensely and stick to the rules.” In sporting terms, he stressed, Gnabry’s failure “didn’t change much.” For the national player, who had no symptoms, he ordered Thomas Müller to go down the right wing. He told his team that, above all, they had to “resist physically.”
Atlético, it was immediately clear, had not come to pay tribute to the champion. The Spaniards acted aggressively as usual, Müller scolded them after a duel, clearly audible as “the biggest bully in world football”. The quick turnaround of the guests when Munich lost the ball was particularly dangerous at first, shopping star Luis Suarez had a good chance so early (6th).
But Bayern were not at all intimidated and, for their part, bravely sought the way forward. They got their first big chance after a corner kick from Joshua Kimmich, who had become a father for the second time the night before the game. Müller extended Niklas Süle, who hit the right post (15th).
A conquest of the ball by Kimmich initiated the lead: the midfield boss skillfully lifted the ball at the rear of the defense, where Coman deftly conceded and executed on second contact. Before 2-0, the French defended the ball hard in the penalty area and passed the scorer Goretzka with great clarity.
Atlético’s supposed follow-up goal by young star Joao Félix (47.) did not count due to an offside position by Suárez. After Tolisso’s cracker, Coman rose after a strong solo that would have been worth it just for the entrance, but the pandemic had prevented spectators from reaching the Allianz Arena.
SID
