Bundesliga
Bayern Munich made history at the FIFA Club World Cup as they became the first team to score double digits in a single game and registered the biggest win ever in the competition by beating Auckland City 10-0 on Sunday. But what can Vincent Kompany’s team really take from a heavily one-sided showing against a semi-professional opponent?
bundesliga.com looks at five things the Bundesliga champions will have really learned from their afternoon in Cincinnati…
>>> Recap Bayern's win over Auckland City
Musiala marks return
Many supporters out there will have wondered how far Bayern really could’ve gone in the UEFA Champions League if not for the hamstring injury Jamal Musiala picked up against Augsburg in early April. Ultimately, we’ll never know if he would’ve helped them past Inter Milan and beyond the quarter-finals, but his impact on the team is undeniable.
He underlined that point on his return to action at TQL Stadium, being introduced for the final half an hour with the score at 6-0 to get some minutes under his belt. Within a few moments, he had his first goal with a finish into the top right corner. He then won and converted a penalty after being tripped in the box performing some classic trickery, before sharply intercepting a pass out from the back to complete a hat-trick 23 minutes after his introduction.
The headline-grabbing second-half salvo was only the second time in his senior career that the 22-year-old had netted three goals in a competitive game. “He won’t need to discuss much after this game and will feel good tomorrow,” Kompany said afterwards.
However, the Belgian also wanted to point out another very different scene: “The highlight for me was Jamal’s defensive sprint. And if you’re doing that in this sort of game, then you’ve got a good foundation.”
That was a moment late in the game where Musiala got back into his own box to block a shot. The right attitude mixed with his sublime talent, plus the confidence boost of a hat-trick, bode well for him and Bayern – less so for upcoming opponents in the USA. A free-scoring Musiala also helps take the burden off the likes of Harry Kane, who was at times marked out of the game by an incredibly deep-lying Auckland team.
Watch: Musiala's best skills
Solid Tah debut
Bayern had to get round the negotiating table with Bayer Leverkusen to ensure that Jonathan Tah could play at this Club World Cup, given his free transfer was only set to go through on 1 July. They got that deal done in time and will be very pleased with their first viewing of their new centre-back.
With Minjae Kim and Dayot Upamecano not yet fully fit, it would’ve left Josip Stanišić – himself most often used at full-back – as the only senior natural option in the heart of the back four. Tah was therefore thrown in from the start.
In fairness, he wasn’t challenged much defensively until Auckland opened up a little with fresh legs in the closing stages in a hot Cincinnati, but the 29-year-old didn’t put a foot wrong when called upon.
He even made an instant impact, requiring only six minutes in a Bayern shirt to contribute a goal when he set up Kingsley Coman for the tournament’s opener.
“We need to keep it up,” the Germany international demanded afterwards. That they do, especially with substantially tougher opposition to come in Boca Juniors and Benfica.
Müller milestone
The Club World Cup is famously the last chance people will get to see Thomas Müller in a Bayern shirt. With the first of up to seven final appearances in the bag, he’s already ensured he makes his mark at the tournament.
His first goal to make it 5-0 was classic Raumdeuter play, drifting unseen into the box to volley home Michael Olise’s in-swinging cross from the right. His second, though, was historic – not only in that it took Bayern up to double figures for the day but that it was his 250th competitive goal for his boyhood club.
“If the Club World Cup has brought us anything, it’s allowed Thomas Müller to reach 250 goals” – joked several fans on social media.
It was a feat obviously downplayed by the man himself, but it is a substantial figure. Only the great Gerd Müller (566) and Robert Lewandowski (344) have scored more goals in Bayern colours than the club’s record appearance-maker. Sunday’s game was the 752nd of his senior career for the Bavarians.
Going all the way in the USA would earn him a 35th major trophy and make him the outright most-decorated German player in football history. It would be some way to bow out at Bayern…
The French connection
Bayern’s game was the second of this year’s Club World Cup and very much made up for the goalless encounter in Saturday’s opener between Al Ahly and Inter Miami. It took Coman only six minutes to head in the first goal of the tournament, sparking a wave of French attacks on the Auckland net.
The left winger would soon tee up Sacha Boey for his first-ever Bayern goal. Moments later, Olise on the right got in on the act, barely seconds before he set up Coman for the fourth. The Bundesliga’s top provider and 2024/25 Rookie of the Season had a second provision when he crossed in for Müller before rounding off the first-half half dozen with a curling effort of his own.
Watch: All Olise's Bundesliga goals and assists so far
Two goals and two assists in 45 minutes earned Olise the Player of the Match award at the head of Bayern’s Francophone offensive. “It was a good game from all our forwards today,” said Kompany of his front line.
Karl catches the eye
He may not have got a goal or an assist, but it was certainly an eye-catching debut for Lennart Karl. The 17-year-old was introduced at half-time for Olise on the right wing and never looked overawed by the occasion of his first senior appearance.
>>> Learn more about Karl and the other Bayern youngtsers at the Club World Cup
He ran at defenders, looked to get away shots and passes into the box. The fact he didn’t make a telling impact on the scoresheet isn’t important. The confidence and belief he will have gained from playing alongside the likes of Müller – who made his senior debut when Karl was only six months old – in a proper match and not just in training will do him a world of good.
“Lenny has the ability to be a threat in the last third of the pitch. That’s his main strength. He had good situations. It’s good for him and for Bayern that he made his debut,” Kompany told the media of his young charge after full-time.