Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen: Score, Reaction from 2016 Bundesliga Match
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to a 6-0 win over Werder Bremen on Friday in the first match of the 2016-17 Bundesliga season.
Xabi Alonso and Lewandowski gave Bayern a two-goal lead early, and the Bavarians missed a host of chances to widen their lead before half-time. The Polish striker hit again early in the second half, and then Philipp Lahm made it 4-0. Franck Ribery also found the net before Lewandowski completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.
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Bremen never even attempted to attack and put together a dreadful outing in almost all areas of the pitch. Bayern could have easily scored five or six more goals.
As shared by Bayern's official Twitter account, summer signing Mats Hummels made his first Bundesliga start for the Bavarians since his transfer from Borussia Dortmund:
The match was preceded by a ceremony dedicated to last year's title-winning squad and some returning Olympians, but once the contest got under way, the action was fast and furious.
Werder crawled into their own half and gave the Bavarians all kinds of space to work with, and it took Thomas Muller just minutes to go close, missing the goal by inches.
It was Alonso who opened the scoring after nine minutes, chesting down a ball before unleashing a stunning half-volley that gave goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald no chance.
Bleacher Report UK were impressed:
Wiedwald only just denied Muller from close range two minutes later, and Ribery's rebound attempt was blocked. Bayern kept surging forward, and Lewandowski doubled their lead after 13 minutes with a fine curling strike after the defence gave him far too much space.
Onefootball felt for Werder's defence:
"LEWA! GOAAAL! 2-0 for @bayern in just 12minutes. @werderbremen's defence is getting destroyed! pic.twitter.com/qd7N5f0G0Z
— Onefootball (@Onefootball) August 26, 2016"
The two-goal lead was the sign for Bayern to take their foot off the gas momentarily, allowing Bremen some breathing space. The visitors showed few signs of attacking intentions, however, and the best chances kept falling for the hosts.
Wiedwald again intervened after a combination between Alonso and Lahm, which ended in a fine shooting chance for Lewandowski.
Some poor communication in defence also saw Muller alone in front of goal after a routine throw, but the German hit the posts and watched as Lewandowski somehow failed to bundle the rebound over the line. The miss was so bad even Muller was laughing at the Poland international, and Lewandowski cracked a smile himself.
The third goal proved to be a difficult one to find, as the Bavarians missed chance after chance. Alonso sent Lewandowski through on goal once again, but Wiedwald produced a stunning save with his leg to deny him at the near post.
DW Sports' Stefan Bienkowski had to point out the champions weren't exactly facing top competition:
Somehow, Bremen survived until half-time with just the two-goal deficit, but their chances of beating Bayern were slim at best―the visitors barely got anywhere near goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in the first half.
Less than one minute after the start of the second half, Lewandowski got on the end of a cross from Muller to finally score the elusive third goal for Bayern.
The Guardian's Sachin Nakrani was not impressed with the defence:
Bremen finally started to show some fight, as Luca Caldirola angered the hosts and the Bavarian fans with a hard foul on Muller.
Lahm kept finding space out wide and moving far up the pitch, and Alonso barely put a foot wrong throughout the match. Muller also made a strong impression, which was a positive sign after his struggles toward the end of last season and poor showing at UEFA Euro 2016.
Bayern once again dropped the tempo, and manager Carlo Ancelotti signaled for his bench and gave Joshua Kimmich some extended minutes.
But just as the match appeared to die down, Bayern struck again. Lahm and Muller combined before the former fired a superb strike on goal, with the ball clipping the post on its way in.
DW Sports' Jonathan Harding weighed in on what he was seeing:
Lahm's goal opened the floodgates, and the hosts took full advantage. Ribery got his name on the scoresheet after another defensive howler, and Lewandowski converted a penalty for his hat-trick. The penalty was caused by Maximilian Eggestein, who pulled down Ribery inside the box just two minutes after he was substituted on.
The 6-0 lead was good enough for Ancelotti, who made more changes and ordered his team to see out the contest.
Post-Match Reaction
Per Bayern's official Twitter account, Ancelotti was happy with the performance, but he still saw room for improvement:
On Matchday 2, Bayern will travel to Gelsenkirchen for an early-season test with FC Schalke, while Werder will play host to FC Augsburg.
