Bayern Munich entered the Oktoberfest weekend in emphatic fashion, dismantling Union Berlin 7-0 at the Allianz Arena on Friday evening. Union initially frustrated Vincent Kompany's side with a compact defensive approach and survived the opening quarter of an hour without conceding a major chance. Once Jamal Musiala broke the resistance in the 18th minute, however, the match quickly became one-way traffic.
Musiala drove a powerful effort beyond Frederik Rönnow for the opener before Michael Olise took increasingly firm control of proceedings. The Frenchman won the penalty from which Harry Kane scored his 100th Bundesliga goal in the 39th minute. Kane required just 98 league appearances to reach the landmark. Olise added Bayern's third shortly before halftime. After that, each subsequent goal seemed more beautiful than the previous one.
Olise delivered a superb cross for Kane to head home his 101st Bundesliga goal in the 54th minute. Substitute Ismael Saibari made it 5-0 in the 70th minute before Olise completed a remarkable individual performance with two further goals in quick succession. Tom Bischof supplied both, first releasing Olise with an excellent long pass before later setting him up with a backheel for the Frenchman's hat-trick goal.
Kompany's team also continued pressing for more deep into the closing stages, underscoring the comprehensive nature of the victory. For Bayern, the timing could scarcely have been better. The 7-0 win arrived one day before the start of Oktoberfest and immediately before a three-week international break. Members of the squad subsequently attended the traditional festivities in Munich in understandably upbeat spirits.
Nathaniel Brown and Serge Gnabry both reflected on the result, their own respective circumstances and the increasingly positive mood surrounding the squad.
"I'm from Bayern myself, so I know a little bit about it already," Brown — a native of Amberg — told the club's television microphones when commenting on the Oktoberfest proceedings. "Even though I haven't experienced all of it fully, I know a little bit about it. I know a little bit about how one is supposed to dress, but the others helped me to ensure that it's all put on properly."
"It doesn't get much better than a 7-0 on a Friday evening," Brown continued. "We played outstandingly. Lots of goals. As a result, it was a perfect day."
"It's been a nice weekend, it was a good win for us," Gnabry said. "For me, it was a good 'comeback game'. It was a lot of fun to be back on the pitch. It was great to be back in the swing of things on the home pitch. The fans were great. Accordingly, it was a bunch of fun."
"We've added some great characters [during the offseason]," Gnabry continued. "We're all really excited back there in the locker room. A 7-0 makes for a good mood as we stand here on the 'Wiesn'. In general, I think we're all growing a great deal together."
