Early setback
Sebastian Hoeneß’s team found themselves a goal behind as early as the second minute, courtesy of the free-scoring Harry Kane. Thereafter, they struggled against Bayern’s press, and the home team had most of the play in the rest of the first half. VfB failed to make inroads up front and were on the back foot in defence, and they had both Alex Nübel – who made excellent saves from Konrad Laimer (8’) and Leroy Sané (29‘) – and the referee to thank, with the latter chalking off a pair of Bayern goals from Min-Jae Kim (25‘) and Thomas Müller (45‘+2) due to marginal offsides.
Bayern continue to dominate
The second half was similar to the first in terms of Bayern’s dominance. Kane doubled the home side’s advantage with a header in the 56th minute, and the match was over as a contest shortly after that when Kim made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute. VfB were very much second-best on the day but despite this defeat, they still find themselves in an impressive fourth spot in the table after Matchday 15.
Goals
2nd minute: A pass from Atakan Karazor goes astray as VfB look to build and Bayern turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye. Kane shows his prowess as a striker to convert the opportunity and put his side in front.
56th minute: VfB fail to clear the ball after a corner and Kane is on hand from close range to double his own and his side’s tally.
63rd minute: A free-kick into the box from Pavlovic is met by a header from Kim, and a cruel Anthony Rouault deflection leaves Nübel with no chance.
Reaction
Sebastian Hoeneß: “It wasn’t a good night for us. We were behind after just two minutes, couldn’t get into a decent rhythm and weren’t able to implement what we wanted to do. We’re disappointed with the performance and now we’re absolutely desperate to get the three points in our last match of the year, at home to Augsburg.”