Toni and Klose seal winning start

Bayern 3 Hansa Rostock 0
Toni and Klose seal winning start






The 69,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena on an unseasonably chilly afternoon watched Bayern make light of the persistent rain and slippery surface to pummel the Rostock goal in the first half-hour, although Toni’s 14th-minute tap-in for his first Bundesliga goal was scant reward for the Reds’ dominance of the opening period.

The home side took a breather after the whirlwind start but upped the pace again in the second period, only for Toni to betray a slight lack of match sharpness by failing to bury two excellent chances.

That was rendered academic on 66 minutes when Klose mopped up after Rostock keeper Stefan Wächter spilled a Philipp Lahm drive, and former Bremen man Klose took his career total to 99 top flight goals with a firm header five minutes from time as Bayern comfortably ushered the game to its close to register maximum points from their opening league fixture.

Star-studded line-up

Toni’s inclusion from the start was the one major selection surprise when the teams were announced half-an-hour before kick-off. “He’ll only manage an hour,” coach Ottmar Hitzfeld explained, “and after our problems in the Cup, I’d rather have him earlier than later in the game.” As it turned out, the Italy superstar covered a lot more than a mere 60 minutes.

Despite the continuing absence of Lukas Podolski, Jan Schlaudraff, Willy Sagnol and Valerien Ismael, the line-up had a first-choice look to it, with captain Oliver Kahn in goal and Martin Demichelis partnering Lucio in a rearguard featuring Marcell Jansen and Lahm on the left and right respectively.

Ze Roberto and Mark van Bommel formed a formidable shield in front of the back four with Bastian Schweinsteiger and Franck Ribery alternating on the flanks, providing the service for the all-new front pairing of Toni and Klose. Perhaps the most disappointed man was Hamit Altintop, relegated to the bench after featuring and earning plaudits in almost all the club’s pre-season friendlies.

Toni on target

Hansa keeper Wächter, a summer arrival from Hamburg, was the busiest man on the park in the first 30 minutes, saving well from Van Bommel (2), Ribery (4, 14), Schweinsteiger (24), Jansen (24) and most impressively from Klose when the striker was clean through after 28 minutes.

But the agile shot-stopper was powerless to prevent Toni opening his Bayern account after 14 minutes when the big Italian played a quicksilver one-two with Klose, the Germany man unselfishly squaring from the corner of the six-yard box for his new strike partner to net from close range.

To their credit, promoted Hansa never lost their shape and launched a series of forays into the Bayern half as the Bavarians eased off in the period before the break, but Kahn’s goal was never seriously threatened and the sides turned round with the men in red a goal to the good.

Miro the poacher

Toni, taken by surprise when Schweinsteiger’s free-kick sailed through a crowd of players in the first attacking move after the restart, steered the ball inches wide of the far post, before Lucio and Van Bommel warmed Wächter’s gloves with the hour mark approaching.

The best chance of the lot fell to the Italian when Wächter misjudged Ribery’s floated free-kick, but the World Cup winner glanced his header wide of the empty net. However, the home side did punish another Wächter error when the keeper spilled what should have been a routine take from Lahm’s poke at goal, Klose gleefully nipping in to double the advantage.

The Rostock number one redeemed himself with a fine save from Schweinsteiger, who gave way to Altintop for the last quarter of an hour, before Jose Ernesto Sosa played a first ten minutes in the Bundesliga in place of Ribery. Klose then set the seal on an enjoyable afternoon with a trademark header from Lahm’s perfect cross after 85 minutes to hand his side a morale-boosting start to the new campaign.

Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley


Bayern Munich - Hansa Rostock 3-0 (H-T: 1-0)






Bayern Munich:

Kahn - Lahm, Lucio, Demichelis, Jansen - Schweinsteiger (Altintop 74), Van Bommel, Zé Roberto, Ribéry (Sosa 79) - Toni, Klose (Wagner 87)



Substitutes:

Rensing, Lell, Van Buyten, Ottl



Hansa Rostock:

Wächter - Lense, Sebastian, Orestes, Pearce - Stein, Beinlich (Bülow 60), Rahn (Langen 60) - Yelen (Menga 83) - Kern, Cetkovic



Referee:

Mr. Schmidt (Stuttgart)



Spectators:

69,000 (capacity)



Goals:

1-0 Toni (14), 2-0 Klose (66), 3-0 Klose (85)



Yellow Cards:

- / Beinlich, Orestes, Stein

Reaction to Bayern v Hansa Rostock
Hitzfeld: We’ve delivered the goods today



Bayern got off to the start they wanted in the league with a comfortable 3-0 home win over promoted Hansa Rostock. Ottmar Hitzfeld was understandably pleased with most of what he saw from his team, but the coach reserved the highest praise for surprise starter Luca Toni. “He was a constant threat,” Hitzfeld enthused, delighted with his men’s focused attitude on the first day of the Bundesliga season.

Reaction to Bayern v Hansa Rostock:

Ottmar Hitzfeld: “We’ve delivered the goods today. After Monday’s game in Burghausen, we knew the dangers posed by so-called underdogs, and Rostock have won three times in Munich in the past. We were very focused from the start, but there were four or five breaks where we saw that Hansa can play football. We gave them too much space, and I wasn’t pleased by that. The second half wasn’t easy either, because we didn’t get the second goal until late on. I’m delighted the risk with Toni worked out. He was a constant threat, and his presence also made Klose more effective. It’s good when strikers get off the mark in the first match, it takes the pressure off.“

Miroslav Klose: “It was pretty good stuff for the first match, but no more than that. My partnership with Luca Toni’s already working very well. I hope we can keep it up, but we’ve got to do more with our chances, and work harder as a unit when we lose possession.“

Luca Toni: “I haven’t been able to train with the team a great deal, but I really feel at home here. I believe things are going to go well. Obviously, it’s fantastic playing alongside Miroslav Klose, you’ve got to be delighted at having a partner as good as him.“

Frank Pagelsdorf (Hansa Rostock): “Our school report for today would have noted that we were present. Bayern thoroughly deserved the margin of victory. We came here with big plans, but we couldn’t put them into action. We let them play far too much football, especially down the flanks in the second half.“