Bayern Munich were absolutely rampant in the games leading up to their historic treble-winning campaign last season. Hansi Flick’s side are one of the only few in Europe who can boast about their world-class quality ranging from the back to the front.
Not only did the German giants steamrolled their way through to the Champions League trophy, but they also did it with a blemishless record, winning each and every one of their games on the way.
However, with the likes of Coutinho, Perisic and Odriozola returning to their respective clubs after spending the loan spell in Munich, the Bayern squad has been left short of some depth.
Moreover, they lost their midfield maestro, Thiago Alcantara, to Liverpool, which begs the question – can the Bavarians pick up from where they left off last season?
Well, the men from Munich seem to have answered the question with a resounding yes as Bayern put Schalke for eight in the Bundesliga opener yesterday.
Despite the loss of key figures from last season, Hansi Flick was able to field a strong eleven against David Wagner’s side, with new signing Leroy Sane making his debut and Joshua Kimmich filling the hole left in midfield by the departed Thiago.
The gap in quality between the two teams became more and more evident as the game went on with Bayern not opting to put their foot off the gas despite being 3-0 up by the 31st minute.
As for the new boy Sane, his capping moment came in the 71st minute, many thanks to his compatriot Joshua Kimmich who showed some stellar vision to put the ex-Manchester City winger through on Ralf Fahrmann’s goal.
Kimmich started off the move by bringing the ball out of Bayern’s own box before spotting Leroy Sane in some space. Schalke’s Benjamin Stambouli noticed the danger and tried to get closer to Bayern’s number 10.
However, Sane then went on to exploit the gap left behind the defender with a blistering run, which was duly spotted by Kimmich as he released an exceptional pass for his winger to slot in the 7th goal on the night for Bayern.
Kimmich yells 'Leroy, Leroy'
Defender understands and tries to close Sane down sees he is in no mans land then tries to recover
Sane sees the space and runs into it, receives the peach of a pass and scores
