Bayern Munich vs. Hamburg: Winners and Losers from the Bundesliga Game

It may not have been a surprising scoreline for any regular fans of the German top division, yet Bayern Munich's 5-0 win over Hamburg on Friday night was a score that certainly showed just what the German champions were capable of. 

Much had been made of Pep Guardiola's team over the summer months, including speculation around the manager's future and the attitude of some key players in the squad. Yet once the first ball had been kicked, it was back to business in fantastic fashion for the Bavarian giants. 

Hamburg will have to pick themselves up and tend to their wounds before their next test, as Bayern march on in the hope of picking up another league title. 

Here are the winners and losers from Friday's one-sided affair. 

Winner: Playing Philipp Lahm at Right-Back

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Guardiola could have went with any team on Friday night. Such is the depth and talent of the Bayern manager's squad, and unfortunately, the standard of Hamburg's own side that any combination of eleven Bavarian stars would have got the job done. 

Yet the Catalonian coach instead decided to set his side up in a formation that we should see from here on in this season. A system that crucially has Philipp Lahm back at right-back. 

The signing of Arturo Vidal was considered by many to be a straight swap of talent for the departed Bastian Schweinsteiger, yet it seems as though Guardiola intended to bring in the more physical, defensive midfielder, so he could shore up his defence with the return of the club captain to his more favoured position. 

Bayern looked far more balanced on either wing with Lahm back on the right, and it seems as though Guardiola has finally come to his sense. 

Loser: Hamburg's Set-Piece Defending

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If Hamburg did leave Munich feeling undone on Friday night, it would have undoubtedly been with regards to some of their defending on the night. 

Manager Bruno Labbadia's side looked very well prepared for the Munich giants when the ball was passed along the ground. The winger's tracked back, the striker harassed the Bayern defence and the back-line followed their runners. Yet something undid all of that. 

Despite such a stubborn performance in the first half, Hamburg simply couldn't get near Bayern whenever the ball was in the air.

The visitors may have had Johan Djourou and Emir Spahic—two central defenders who know how to throw their weight around—but Bayern couldn't have had an easier time knocking the ball in the net for their first goal, and subsequently a relatively untested time of it from every other set piece from then on in. 

Winner: Bayern's Alternative Wing Play

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Whether it was through purpose of ingenuity on the night, Bayern took an alternative approach to goal on Friday night in their first Bundesliga game back. 

Where the side tends to play with the ball on the ground and enjoy poking through balls between the opposing back line, Bayern instead took a more direct route to goal against Hamburg with regular play down each wing. 

Douglas Costa was instrumental in constantly putting pressure on the visitors with darting runs and crosses into the box, along with Lahm on the right flank. Coincidentally, the first goal came from a well-worked set piece, but the second came from a diagonal ball across Hamburg's box, while the third was a result of Costa once again getting down the line and finding Thomas Muller in the box. 

Bayern had attempted a new way to attack their opponents, and it worked.  

Loser: Emir Spahic

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

Hamburg haven't exactly been the perfect example of how to sign players in the transfer window, yet the acquisition of Spahic this summer will surely go down as one of the most bizarre in recent years. 

Released by Bayer Leverkusen last season by manager Roger Schmidt, the 34-year-old has proved over the past two seasons with the Factory Squad that he has long since fallen beneath the minimum required to be a Bundesliga central defender. 

This was evident for all to see on Friday night, as the defender continued to put in late challenge after late challenge over the course of the opening 45 minutes, picking up a yellow card just 35 minutes into the game. The Bosnian international then started the second half in the only way he knew how: by hacking down Lewandowski on the edge of the box just five minutes into the second half. 

He is not a player that Hamburg should rely on in this most crucial of seasons. 

Winner: Bayern's Title Challenge

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

When everything was said and done on Friday evening, the game spelled out one very notable message: Bayern are once again hungry for another Bundesliga title. 

Although Guardiola's side may have looked a little rusty in the first half against a determined Hamburg team, they pulled through in the end by quite some distance against the relegation battlers. Bayern looked like a side desperate for silverware, and a team ready to overcome any obstacle before them. 

Five goals without any return may seem like a normal scoreline whenever Hamburg and Bayern face one another these days, but this match was a call to arms to the rest of the Bundesliga. Guardiola's men are ready to fight for their fourth league title in a row.