Bayern's imperial display against Hamburg before Champions League kicks off

Of course, there was only one place to take pictures for all Bayern fans prior to kick-off. On this wonderfully warm late-summer evening in Munich, the masses came together in front of the newly erected bronze statue of a true Bayern legend. On Friday, one day after what would have been his 80th birthday, the monument of the Kaiser, Franz Beckenbauer, had been unveiled to the public in front of the Allianz Arena, and so the Bayern supporters enjoyed a truly special start to this football Saturday. And, spoiler alert, it wasn't the only highlight they were able to enjoy during the home game against their northern rivals from Hamburg.

This football classic hadn't taken place in seven-and-a-half years due to HSV's absence from the Bundesliga, but a true football festival awaited the supporters on this beautiful day in the south of Germany. Even before kick-off, the fans sung Bayern’s official stadium anthem in the completely sold-out Allianz Arena, lifted their scarves into the sky and demonstrated their excitement for the second home game of the new Bundesliga season. The first real highlight of the day was a visual treat, as the fans held up 14,000 sheets to create an impressive tifo commemorating the Südkurve supporters and their founding year.

When the ball finally started to roll, it was incredibly loud in the Allianz Arena. Next to the enthusiastic Bayern fans, the many Hamburg supporters dressed in white and blue contributed to a fantastic atmosphere. Red vs. blue in the stands, red vs. blue on the pitch. The chants bounced back and forth between Bayern's Südkurve and the away section like a sailing boat at open sea. However, on solid land, the pitch of the Allianz Arena, the visitors from the far north experienced a very rocky afternoon and fell victim to wave after wave of attack by Michael Olise, Luis Díaz, Harry Kane and the rest of the Bayern team. In the end, Bayern produced a commanding 5-0 win, the fans in red and white rejoicing and enjoying a truly wonderful day of football.

Gnabry full of confidence

After 29 minutes, the scoreboard already showed a 4-0 lead for Vincent Kompany’s team, who had made a name for himself as a player at Hamburg before taking the step to the English Premier League. Serge Gnabry's confidence was tangible from the stands, and so it came as no surprise when he took a shot from a tight angle and hammered the ball under the crossbar to make it 1-0 after just three minutes. Those who had been fortunate enough to witness his most recent training performances at Säbener Straße were anything but surprised by Gnabry's display. “I'm in good shape at the moment. Overall, things are going very well in our team and it's really fun. We're playing together well, we're passing the ball around well and know what our teammates are going to do,” Gnabry commented after the final whistle. Across seasons, the 30-year-old has recorded three goals and two assists in the past four Bundesliga games.

Kane and Díaz cause double trouble

Only six minutes later, Aleksandar Pavlović, who had replaced Leon Goretzka in the starting formation following the international break, made it 2-0. Kane had contributed with a beautiful assist, and the England captain increased Bayern's lead to 3-0 with a penalty following a handball after 26 minutes. A few weeks ago, Kane had missed a penalty in the DFB Cup against Wehen Wiesbaden, but this time he once again demonstrated his near-impeccable penalty technique. Kane has now scored at least one goal against each of the 20 teams he has faced in the Bundesliga. 

Three minutes later, Díaz meant more trouble for Hamburg when he scored from distance following a quickly executed free-kick by Joshua Kimmich. A deflection had made the ball impossible to stop for keeper Daniel Heuer Fernandes. The Colombian attacker has now scored in each of his first three Bundesliga games for the record champions and is only the fourth player to do so after Ruggiero Rizzitelli in 1996, Luca Toni in 2007 and Mario Mandžukić in 2012. Bayern now switched into cruise control and so the first half ended with a comfortable 4-0 lead for the Reds. A glance into the FC Bayern app proved the extent of the team’s control: 138 vs. 21 passes in the final third and eight shots on goal to one. The hosts had dominated the first 45 minutes.

Jackson makes debut

And the Bayern fans had even more reason to celebrate at the start of the second half. New signing Nicolas Jackson came on for Gnabry to make his Bayern debut. Gnabry was rested for the first game of the Champions League season against Chelsea on Wednesday, as was Dayot Upamecano. Next to “Jackson!” chants, the Bayern fans in the Arena also shouted “Bischof!” when the young Germany international came on to make his Bundesliga debut for the club following an operation on his appendix. Additionally, Lennart Karl and Sacha Boey were fielded during the second half. “It was important to be able to rest one or two players today. Many of us were on the road with our respective national teams and had to travel great distances. So, it was helpful we were up by four goals at half-time and able to make some substitutions,” commented captain Manuel Neuer, who was happy about Bayern's clean sheet.

The team later combined for the fifth goal of the day by Kane following an assist by the once more outstanding Olise. Kane has now been involved in at least two goals in each of his last four Bundesliga games (six goals, four assists) and has already been involved in eight goals in the new Bundesliga season, not only making him the player with the most goals but also with the most assists (three). This time, however, the goal wasn't celebrated as loudly by the Bayern fans, who were more concerned with two medical emergencies taking place in the Allianz Arena's south stand. In these moments the two groups of fans proved their outstanding fairness and sportsmanship and respectfully halted the waving of flags and chants. Fortunately, the situation soon seemed to improve and the fans went back to singing after 70 minutes.

Kompany thrilled by the fans

After 80 minutes, an air of melancholy settled in the stadium as the fans started to celebrate not only the win but one of the greatest icons in German football history. The song ‘Gute Freunde kann niemand trennen’ (Good Friends Cannot Be Separated) reminded everyone of the legendary Beckenbauer, as his No.5 shirt seemed to wave down from the stadium roof. Following a final highlight, a shot off the bar from Olise, the final whistle confirmed the next commanding win for Bayern following their 6-0 victory against Leipzig in the first home game of the season. 

“A clean sheet and five goals scored – that was really good. The atmosphere in the stadium was simply amazing from the beginning. It reminded me of the atmosphere at Oktoberfest,” Kompany said about this special day. “The fans really were ready for this game. It was great fun. We have been working hard for our wins and that's why they're deserved.”

Champions League duel with the club world champions on Wednesday

Following the final whistle, the Bayern players celebrated in front of the Südkurve and thousands of smiling faces. Bayern are the only club with the full nine points after three Bundesliga games. This alone should give the team plenty of confidence going into the Champions League clash with club world champions Chelsea on Wednesday evening. “I'm excited for Wednesday's game. We all saw them play at the Club World Cup and they deserved to win that. I don't think they're any worse now. It's going to be an exciting and high-class game,” commented board member for sport Max Eberl. Obviously, the Bayern fans are hoping for another magical night on Europe's biggest stage, during which they will loudly represent their colours. The team will hopefully be able to confirm it's outstanding early season form, and the Kaiser will be looking down from above.

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