Bundesliga
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich ran out 3-0 winners over 10-man Borussia Mönchengladbach to make it a European record-equalling 13 competitive wins to start the season.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-3 Bayern MunichGoals: 0-1 Kimmich 64', 0-2 Guerreiro 70' (assist: Olise), 0-3 Karl 81' (assist: Guerreiro)Sent off: Castrop 19'Missed pen: Stöger 75'
Bayern arrived at Borussia-Park looking to continue their perfect start to the Bundesliga campaign against bottom-placed Mönchengladbach, who were winless in 14 league matches dating back to March.
The match kicked off 15 minutes late due to traffic delays affecting Bayern's journey, with coach Vincent Kompany making six changes to the side that beat Club Brugge in midweek, including a start for Jonas Urbig in goal.
The visitors nearly made a perfect start when Nicolas Jackson fed Luis Díaz in the first minute, but the Colombian fired just wide.
The match's defining moment came in the 19th minute when Jens Castrop was initially booked for a challenge on Díaz, only for referee Sascha Stegemann to upgrade it to a straight red after VAR review, deeming it "a health-endangering foul".
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Gladbach defended resolutely for the remainder of the half, with Moritz Nicolas making crucial saves from Harry Kane and Tom Bischof to keep the scores level at the interval.
Kompany introduced Konrad Laimer and Raphaël Guerreiro at half-time in a bid to grind Gladbach down.
Michael Olise twice came close, with Kevin Diks making a crucial goal-line clearance, while Nicolas continued to frustrate the visitors.
The breakthrough finally came in the 64th minute when Serge Gnabry, on for Jackson, set up Joshua Kimmich, whose initial shot was blocked before he calmly slotted home with his left foot.
Five minutes later, Guerreiro doubled Bayern's lead, placing a cool finish from Olise's cute pass beyond Nicolas.
Gladbach had a golden opportunity to get back into the match in the 75th minute when Bischof fouled Diks in the box, but Kevin Stöger struck his penalty against the post.
To compound the hosts' misery, Lennart Karl, introduced for Díaz just a minute earlier, put the result beyond doubt with a stunning strike from outside the area in the 81st minute.
The 17-year-old collected the ball on the right, cut inside and curled a magnificent effort into the top corner to seal Bayern's eighth consecutive league victory and equal the record held by AC Milan (1992/93) for most competitive wins by teams in Europe's top five leagues to start a season (13).
Gladbach, meanwhile, remain rooted to the foot of the table with just three points from eight matches.
Kimmich was at his influential best throughout the encounter, dictating play from midfield and leading by example.
The stand-in captain covered more distance than any other Bayern player (12.3km), demonstrated exceptional composure under pressure, escaping from 90 percent of pressure situations, and crucially broke the deadlock with a well-taken goal.
His strike was his first in the Bundesliga this season, marking the tenth consecutive campaign in which he has found the net.
Beyond his goal, Kimmich's passing was exemplary, completing 95 percent of his passes under pressure and consistently helping Bayern maintain control against Gladbach's deep defensive block.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Gladbach 0.79 - Bayern 2.73
Fastest player: Rocco Reitz (Gladbach), 33.76 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-3 by Lennart Karl (Bayern), 4 percent
Most pressed player: Michael Olise (Bayern), 41 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Leon Goretzka (Bayern), +4.71
Fantasy Heroes: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern, 324 Points), Raphaël Guerreiro (Bayern, 324 Points), Michael Olise (Bayern, 297 Points)