Bayern smash Stuttgart 5-1 to launch Bundesliga title defence in style

Bayern came into the new campaign after finishing last season with a domestic double, including a DFB-Pokal final win over Stuttgart, and they quickly showed why expectations remain so high around Munich.

Match highlight

Stuttgart nearly stunned the champions early when Tiago Tomas hit the crossbar from only a few metres out after a header from Grischa Promel had dropped kindly into his path. For a moment, Bayern looked a little open.

The home side settled and took control, going in front just after the 20-minute mark. Joshua Kimmich whipped a dangerous ball into the near-post area, and Dayot Upamecano rose above Josha Vagnoman to guide a header into the bottom-right corner.

Luis Diaz then failed to beat Fabian Bredlow in a one-on-one after getting in behind, while Michael Olise also went close with a long-range strike that drifted narrowly wide.

Unlike many teams who come to Munich, they kept trying to play on the front foot and attack Bayern directly. But that approach also left them exposed again and again, and Bredlow had to produce a strong save to deny Nathaniel Brown as the hosts threatened to pull away before half-time.

Stuttgart actually found a route back into the match only a few minutes into the 2nd half. Neuer first made a sharp save from a close-range Tomas header, but the ball came back out and Vagnoman hammered in from the edge of the box to level things up.

Olise restored the lead with a low finish after a loose pass from Kimmich had opened the door, and soon after Stuttgart gifted Bayern even more breathing space when Vagnoman slipped on the wet surface and turned Alphonso Davies' cross into his own net.

Kompany then introduced big summer arrival Ismael Saibari, and the Moroccan did not need long to make an impact. Olise picked him out smartly from the flank, and Saibari squared for Aleksandar Pavlovic to tap into an empty net.

There was still time for Saibari to show more quality, slipping a pass through for Diaz, who finally got his goal by finishing neatly into the left corner when clean through on goal.

That made it 5-1 and turned a competitive game into another familiar Bayern demolition job.

The champions now have 30 wins from their last 34 competitive meetings with Stuttgart, and if nobody matches that goal difference over the weekend, they will stay exactly where they have spent most of the past 2 years, on top of the Bundesliga.

Stuttgart supporters can still take some encouragement from the fact their club kept hold of key players this summer, but the gap in this fixture still looks painfully obvious.