Harry Kane netted four goals in a match for the first time in a Bayern Munich shirt as the German giants continued their perfect start to the season, kicking off their UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign with a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb.
Playing in their 17th consecutive UCL campaign, Bayern immediately asserted themselves against their less experienced opponents, placing the away side on the back foot. It took just 19 minutes to break the deadlock, with a well-worked move culminating in a neat finish from Serge Gnabry, and although the goal was also chalked off for offside, the play was pulled back for a foul in the build-up, allowing Kane to convert from the penalty spot for the third time this season.
Vincent Kompany’s side were in full control, doubling their lead with an incredible piece of play as Gnabry’s lofted pass from deep found Musiala, who spun to cushion the ball with his chest for Raphaël Guerreiro to sweep in from the edge of the box. Just five minutes later, the contest looked well and truly beyond Dinamo, with Bayern adding a third before HT when Michael Olise followed up his first Bundesliga strike at the weekend with a maiden UCL goal, nodding in Joshua Kimmich’s delivery.
A heavy landing near the centre circle early on ultimately forced Manuel Neuer off at the break, yet few inside the Allianz could have foreseen what happened next. Having produced precious little in the way of attacking intent in the first period, Dinamo netted twice in the space of three minutes to spark the away fans into raptures. Sven Ulreich’s first task after replacing Neuer was to retrieve the ball from the back of the net after Bruno Petković turned home Marko Pjaca’s deft flick on the slide. Still shell-shocked, Bayern’s lead was then cut further moments later when Takuya Ogiwara raced through on goal before slotting the ball through the legs of the substitute goalkeeper.
Having regained their composure, the hosts’ free-flowing football soon resumed, and just 11 minutes later Bayern had restored their three-goal advantage. Kane thought he had bagged another hat-trick when he tapped in a pair of rebounds in quick succession, yet the second of those was flagged offside. Nonetheless, Kompany’s side had their fifth of the evening seconds later when Ivan Nevistić rushed off his line, allowing Musiala to lay off Olise for an open-goal tap-in. Those strikes ended any hope of a Dinamo comeback, with the away side conceding a pair of quickfire penalties as Kane netted twice more.
Substitutes Leroy Sané and Leon Goretzka added two more to cap off the goalfest at an incredible nine for the hosts, who’ve now only been beaten by PSG in their last 26 European encounters at the Allianz. As for Dinamo, they will have simpler tasks, as the Croatian champions look to add to their three previous wins in Europe’s premier competition when they take on Monaco next month.
In a relating development, Juventus won 3 goals go 1 against Netherland’s PSV, Premier League’s Aston Villa thrashed Young Boyz 3 goals to nil, Real Madrid won 3 goals to 1 against Germany’s Stuttgart while Liverpool managed to win 2 goals to 1 against Ac Milan. Meanwhile, Bayern sits at the top of the UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE- League Phase round 1 with goals difference.