Bayern Munich vs. CSKA Moscow: 6 Things We Learned

World Football's finest competition returned this week as reigning champions Bayern Munich began their defence of “Old Big Ears” with a comprehensive home win against tricky opponents CSKA Moscow. 

With a number of key players missing through injury, there were doubts over the manner in which Bayern would tackle the threat of their Russian opponents. Bastian Schweinsteiger as well as fellow midfielders Thiago Alcantara, Mario Gotze and Javi Martinez were the most notable absences.

Yet new coach Pep Guardiola shuffled his squad and redeployed club captain Philipp Lahm in a midfield role that has become more and more familiar to the world class fullback. Brazilian defender Rafinha came in and took the right-back position. 

Here are the top six things that we learned from Tuesday night's match.

Bayern Hit Hard and Fast

Pep Guardiola's European champions wasted no time exerting dominance in their opening test against CSKA Moscow on Tuesday night. 

Within three minutes the home side were already a goal up through a wonderful long-range free kick from David Alaba. Unfortunately for their Russian visitors, the goal was a marker for a period of dominance over the initial 25 minutes that saw Bayern pepper the CSKA goal-line with no fewer than five chances at scoring. 

Alaba so Much More Than a Left Back

One of the key performances from Tuesday night's game came from talented full-back David Alaba, who scored the initial goal from a fantastic free-kick in the opening minutes and went on to dictate much of Bayern's success in the game. 

It was the 21-year-old's moment of magic that brought about the third and final goal, when the Austrian international picked up the ball on the edge of the Moscow defence and played a delicious lobbed ball through to Arjen Robben, who duly knocked it home to ensure all three points. 

Kroos Played the Perfect Game

Another player who stood out for the Bavarian giants was central midfielder Toni Kroos, who came in to the match with the weight of expectation resting upon him in the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger. 

Kroos took to the task and dictated Bayern's play with technical perfection. Throughout the match the German international attempted a total of 82 passes within ordinary time and failed to make only one, giving him an unprecedented passing accuracy for the evening of 99 percent.

The young midfielder put on a master class in the delicate art of passing Tuesday night. For Bayern and Pep Guardiola the results speak for themselves. 

Bayern's Second Goal Shouldn't Have Counted

It's worth noting, just for a moment, the things that didn't go exactly to plan. 

One particular moment in the game that'll scratch at the gloss of tonight's performance is the legality of the hosts' second goal in which Mario Mandzukic comfortably converted a set-piece cross from Arjen Robben with his head. 

Unfortunately the replays of the goal show that the striker was indeed offside when the initial cross was made, meaning that a slightly sharper eye would have had to disallow the goal entirely. A minor point in the grander scheme of things, considering how comprehensive Bayern's win was, but a point worth noting nonetheless. 

Lahm Still Dictating Bayern's Back Line

One player who wasn't allowed to play his natural position or perhaps dictate the game in the same manner as Kroos or Alaba was Philipp Lahm who was once again deployed as a defensive midfielder in place of Bastian Schweinsteiger. 

Yet what we did get to see in this match was an interesting ploy by Guardiola to instill a back line of three defenders, not unlike what he played at Barcelona, as Alaba and Rafinha pushed further up the field and Lahm slotted in between Jerome Boateng and Dante at the back. 

This came during a very comfortable game at the Allianz Arena. As such it was more likely a case of the two central defenders struggling to stay deep. But a notable shape has obviously been introduced by the new manager. 

Bayern Bounced Back After Sammer Criticism

Following the recent allegations from Bayern's director of sport, Matthias Sammer, that described the side as lacking emotion in a 'lethargic' win over Hannover at the weekend, Guardiola will be happy with the response he saw in his side throughout their fantastic win against Moscow. 

The Bundesliga and European champions have had an average start to the new season and under a new coach they will begin to feel the strain and pressure of expectation from the fans and media who expect the very best from them. As such the mid-week win in their first Champions League encounter will go a long way to settling nerves as they rumble on through the campaign.