With 4-0, FC Bayern won confidently even against largely overmatched Kraichgauer and thus remains top of the Bundesliga table.
Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann, who was ill with Corona and was again represented in the stadium by his assistants Dino Toppmöller and Xaver Zembrod, rotated three positions compared to the 4-0 win over Benfica Lisbon in the Champions League. Instead of Süle, Sané and Coman (all on the bench), Omar Richards, Gnabry and Musiala started. Hernandez moved from the left side of defence to the inside. With the ball, Bayern operated with a diamond in midfield, with Kimmich on the six and Musiala on the ten. The latter, meanwhile, rotated vigorously with Sabitzer and Müller in between in the half positions.
Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeneß was forced to make two changes after the 5-0 defeat to Cologne: Kaderabek (ankle injury) and Baumgartner (positive COVID-19 test) were replaced by Chris Richards (on loan from FC Bayern) and Bruun Larsen.
Gnabry at second attempt
From the start, Munich dominated, putting TSG under a lot of pressure with high tempo and direct play. After less than 120 seconds, Lewandowski just missed the 1:0 with a lob over Baumann, who missed the goal by a hair’s breadth (2nd). A few minutes later the ball was actually in the Kraichgauer’s goal for the first time, but Gnabry’s supposed 1:0 was subsequently disallowed because Musiala had previously committed a foul (8th).
But Bayern didn’t have to wait long for the lead. After a successful move, Gnabry finally scored in the 16th minute in accordance with the rules. The record champions remained clearly superior, while Hoeneß and Hoffenheim were also unlucky that Akpoguma – hit by the ball from close range – had to be substituted in a dazed state. Rutter came on early (26th). Shortly afterwards, it was 2:0: After the ball had bounced off Pavard’s hand in the Munich penalty area, play continued and Gnabry initiated the counter-attack via Lewandowski and Müller with a long ball, at the end of which the Pole scored accurately from around 20 metres (30.).
Only then did Hoffenheim come up a little better, but without being able to pose any problems for Neuer. Instead, Lewandowski missed the 3:0 goal in the 43rd minute in a one-on-one with Baumann.
Choupo-Moting decides
The second half began the same way the first half ended – with a great chance for Munich: This time Gnabry failed to beat the TSG keeper from close range. Less than 20 seconds had passed after the restart. A little later, TSG also had their best chance of the game, Bebou just missed (50th). All in all, Bayern controlled the game quite well after the restart. Hoffenheim, meanwhile, had their best phase around the 70th minute, when the Munich team briefly looked a little unfocused. However, Skov and Rutter missed their targets (69., 72.).
The final phase, however, belonged to the Munich team again. Joker Choupo-Moting’s 3:0 in the 82nd minute benefited from a missed clearance attempt that bounced off Upamecano’s back to the scorer. The final goal was scored by another joker, Coman, who – this time after a great pass from Upamecano – made it 4-0 (87th). It was already the 33rd goal of the season for Bayern on only the 9th matchday – a record.
For Bayern, the DFB Cup continues on Wednesday (8.45 p.m.) at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hoffenheim receives second division side Holstein Kiel in the same competition the day before (6.30 p.m.)
