Tough times in Munich

Early setback

Sebastian Hoeneß’s team found themselves a goal behind as early as the second minute, courtesy of the free-scoring Harry Kane. Thereafter, they struggled against Bayern’s press, and the home team had most of the play in the rest of the first half. VfB failed to make inroads up front and were on the back foot in defence, and they had both Alex Nübel – who made excellent saves from Konrad Laimer (8’) and Leroy Sané (29‘) – and the referee to thank, with the latter chalking off a pair of Bayern goals from Min-Jae Kim (25‘) and Thomas Müller (45‘+2) due to marginal offsides.

Bayern continue to dominate

The second half was similar to the first in terms of Bayern’s dominance. Kane doubled the home side’s advantage with a header in the 56^th minute, and the match was over as a contest shortly after that when Kim made it 3-0 in the 63^rd minute. VfB were very much second-best on the day but despite this defeat, they still find themselves in an impressive fourth spot in the table after Matchday 15.

Goals

2^nd minute: A pass from Atakan Karazor goes astray as VfB look to build and Bayern turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye. Kane shows his prowess as a striker to convert the opportunity and put his side in front.

56^th minute: VfB fail to clear the ball after a corner and Kane is on hand from close range to double his own and his side’s tally.

63^rd minute: A free-kick into the box from Pavlovic is met by a header from Kim, and a cruel Anthony Rouault deflection leaves Nübel with no chance.

Reaction

Sebastian Hoeneß: “It wasn’t a good night for us. We were behind after just two minutes, couldn’t get into a decent rhythm and weren’t able to implement what we wanted to do. We’re disappointed with the performance and now we’re absolutely desperate to get the three points in our last match of the year, at home to Augsburg.”