Thanks to Leroy Sané, Bayern Munich has made a tailor-made start to its title mission in the Champions League. The German soccer record champion deservedly prevailed 2-0 (1-0) at the Italian cup winners Inter Milan and showed himself prepared for the explosive reunion with Robert Lewandowski and FC Barcelona on Tuesday. Sané scored the lead after a cabinet play (25′) and, after a double one-two with Kingsley Coman, forced Inter captain Danilo D’Ambrosio’s own goal to make it 2-0 (66′). When he was substituted (84th), Sané was hugged by coach Julian Nagelsmann and celebrated by Bayern fans.
148 days after the quarter-final defeat by outsiders FC Villarreal, the Munich team played a strong first half. After a period of weakness at the beginning of the second half, the second goal in the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, where Oliver Kahn and Co. had won the premier class in 2001, was like a salvation.
It was the visitors’ 19th opening win in a row, and with 29 games without defeat in the group stage they are just one game away from another record. The opportunity comes after the fourth win in the fourth European Cup away game at Inter on Tuesday against Lewandowski’s Barça.
Kahn upset about third place in the Luga
CEO Kahn underpinned the title ambitions in the Champions League immediately before the game – and counted the star-studded offensive. Third place in the league “annoys me”, he complained to DAZN, “we don’t have good efficiency”. That needs to get better as soon as possible.
Nagelsmann, smart in a black shirt with a black tie, used a 4-2-3-1 system. Behind the largely unregistered leader Sadio Mané, Thomas Müller rotated back into the team as a tenth. Joshua Kimmich was already in the player tunnel and fired dangerously from the second row.
The Italian cup winner, who had to do without star striker Romelu Lukaku, acted cautiously and often fell into a five-bar with national player Robin Gosens. As recently in the league, the dominant Bayern found it difficult to find space there. Kimmich’s strong pass to Sané acted as a can opener. The attacker took the ball with him like a dream and completed it safely. As a result, goalkeeper Andre Onana kept Inter in the game.
Milan were initially much more active after the break, the Munich defense around Lucas Hernandez, who played for Dayot Upamecano, swam at times. Former Wolfsburg Edin Dzeko (50th) missed the chance to equalize. Nagelsmann had specifically warned of the “ripped off” attackers of the home side. But the second Munich goal was a heavy blow to the Nerazzurri’s already shattered self-confidence. Mané (68th), who should make the difference in the premier class, could have increased to 3-0.