Two first half goals from new signings, Niklas Sule and Corentin Tolisso earn champions Bayern a 3-1 win in the opening march of the 55th Bundesliga season at the Allianz Arena.
Sule gave the host a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute, his first for the club, after rising highest to meet a Sebastian Rudy free kick with a headed effort.
Ten minutes later, it was 2-0 as fellow new arrival, Tolisso, who arrived from Lyon, as got a debut goal after he flicking home with his head a loose volley from midfield partner, Arturo Vidal.
Bayern made it 3-0, as it appeared Bayer were in for a hammering, six minutes into the second half, with Robert Lewandowski scoring his first against Bayer for the host since leaving Dortmund.
The home side were awarded a penalty by the Video Assistant Referee, VAR, after center referee, Tobias Stieler had initially ignored an incident in the Bayern box.
It was the first sign of what to expect from the VAR, making its debut in the German league, this season.
Lewandowski stepped to the plate to convert the resultant spot-kick to give Bayern a commanding 3-0 advantage.
However, that lead was reduced with 25 minutes to go when the visitors, Bayer, pulled one back.
Julian Brandt found Admir Mehmedi, who was open in the Bayern box, with a pass and the forward made no mistakes as he fired a furious shot beyond the reach of Sven Ulreich to make the score line look more respectable.
With chances to reduce the deficit even further coming their way, Mehmedi’ goal was worth nothing more than a consolation, as Bayern held on to take all three points on offer.
It’s the perfect start for the host, who are gunning for a sixth successive Bundesliga title, stretching the opening day record to sixteen matches without a loss.
Bayer did give a good account of themselves though, managing 20 efforts in the game, the most by any side visiting the Allianz Arena. But Bayern boss, Carlo Ancelotti says there’s nothing to worry about.
“We need to improve more in defense,” Ancelotti said moments after the match. “But I’m not worried, we will continue to get better, he added.
It was day one of the new Bundesliga season, and day two is just few hours away.
Here are matches you can expect to see in day two of the 2017/2018 Bundesliga season.
Hamburger SV vs Augsburg
Wolfsburg vs Dortmund
Hertha vs VfB Stuttgart
Mainz vs Hannover 96
Hoffenhiem vs Werder Bremen
Schalke vs RB Leipzig
All the games but Schalke-RB Leipzig (5:30pm) will kick off by 2:30 pm Nigerian time.
For fans and followers of Nigerian football, it would have been an opportunity to see Leon Balogun, of the ‘Oyibo wall’ fame, against new Super Eagles wide forward, Joel Noah Sarenren-Bazee, when Balogun’s Mainz host Hannover 96.
But Sarenren-Bazee is out for the visitors, as he is currently injured, after suffering a tendon rupture in his left thigh in a preseason match.
