Bundesliga
Bundesliga
29.08.2009 20:28:50
He shoots, he scores: Mario Gomez slots the ball past Diego Benaglio to put Bayern in front
Bayern gun down champions in Munich
New signing Arjen Robben gave Bayern München just the tonic they were looking for, bagging two goals on his debut to help his team to a 3-0 victory over champions VfL Wolfsburg.
Mario Gomez put Bayern in front (27.) before 24-million-euro signing Robben came off the bench to hit the brace (68., 80.) that secured the German record champions their first league win of 2009-10 at the fourth time of asking.
Early chance for Wolves
Starting out with a new 4-3-3 system, coach Louis van Gaal's men impressed from the off in front of a 69,000 crowd in the Allianz Arena, with Gomez sending a shot from the edge of the box just wide in the third minute. Four minutes later however, home keeper Hans-Jörg Butt - in for the demoted Michael Rensing - was forced into frantic action to prevent Grafite putting the visitors into an early lead.
That opportunity aside, Wolfsburg found themselves increasingly on the back foot as Bayern powered forwards. On 15 minutes, Bastian Schweinsteiger headed against the bar following some great approach work by Thomas Müller. Twelve minutes later, the hosts were in front.
Wolfsburg failed to properly clear a Schweinsteiger corner and the ball fell to Hamit Altintop, who rifled in a shot from 20 metres. Wolves keeper Diego Benaglio could only push the ball onto the feet of the lurking Gomez, who was left with a simple tap-in.
Robben takes centre stage
The champions started seeing more of the ball after falling behind, but come the interval Bayern were good value for their lead.
After a slow start to the second half the game picked up pace, and Bayern had Jörg Butt to thank for keeping them in front on the hour mark, the keeper pulling off a brilliant reflex save to a diving header from Edin Dzeko.
Eight minutes later, half-time sub Robben announced his arrival at Bayern in style. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk won possession from Ashkan Dejagah and fed the Dutch wide midfielder, who moved inside the box and fired home into the far corner, with the aid of a slight deflection from Andrea Barzagli.
Game over
Five minutes later Dzeko almost got the visitors right back in it, leaving four Bayern players standing and beating Butt with a beautifully-weighted chip, only to see the ball rattle the post. A minute after that, Grafite rose to meet a Christian Gentner corner and Philipp Lahm had to clear his downward header off the line, denying the champions once again.
With ten minutes of regulation time remaining, Robben rounded off a memorable debut with his own second and his side's third. Franck Ribery, who also came off the bench to join the action just over an hour in, broke away down the right. His low cross into the middle found Robben, who slipped the ball into the net despite the combined attentions of Gentner, Barzagli and Benaglio.
With the game decided as a contest, there was still time for both Gomez and Robben to come within inches of making it 4-0. As it was, the final result was one the home side and their fans could certainly live with.
Early chance for Wolves
Starting out with a new 4-3-3 system, coach Louis van Gaal's men impressed from the off in front of a 69,000 crowd in the Allianz Arena, with Gomez sending a shot from the edge of the box just wide in the third minute. Four minutes later however, home keeper Hans-Jörg Butt - in for the demoted Michael Rensing - was forced into frantic action to prevent Grafite putting the visitors into an early lead.
That opportunity aside, Wolfsburg found themselves increasingly on the back foot as Bayern powered forwards. On 15 minutes, Bastian Schweinsteiger headed against the bar following some great approach work by Thomas Müller. Twelve minutes later, the hosts were in front.
Wolfsburg failed to properly clear a Schweinsteiger corner and the ball fell to Hamit Altintop, who rifled in a shot from 20 metres. Wolves keeper Diego Benaglio could only push the ball onto the feet of the lurking Gomez, who was left with a simple tap-in.
Robben takes centre stage
The champions started seeing more of the ball after falling behind, but come the interval Bayern were good value for their lead.
After a slow start to the second half the game picked up pace, and Bayern had Jörg Butt to thank for keeping them in front on the hour mark, the keeper pulling off a brilliant reflex save to a diving header from Edin Dzeko.
Eight minutes later, half-time sub Robben announced his arrival at Bayern in style. Anatoliy Tymoshchuk won possession from Ashkan Dejagah and fed the Dutch wide midfielder, who moved inside the box and fired home into the far corner, with the aid of a slight deflection from Andrea Barzagli.
Game over
Five minutes later Dzeko almost got the visitors right back in it, leaving four Bayern players standing and beating Butt with a beautifully-weighted chip, only to see the ball rattle the post. A minute after that, Grafite rose to meet a Christian Gentner corner and Philipp Lahm had to clear his downward header off the line, denying the champions once again.
With ten minutes of regulation time remaining, Robben rounded off a memorable debut with his own second and his side's third. Franck Ribery, who also came off the bench to join the action just over an hour in, broke away down the right. His low cross into the middle found Robben, who slipped the ball into the net despite the combined attentions of Gentner, Barzagli and Benaglio.
With the game decided as a contest, there was still time for both Gomez and Robben to come within inches of making it 4-0. As it was, the final result was one the home side and their fans could certainly live with.
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