Stuttgart briefly looked capable of troubling Bayern in the second half, but Michael Olise swiftly ended that spell. The French attacker coolly finished past Fabian Bredlow only minutes after Stuttgart had equalised, putting Bayern back in front.
Soon afterwards, Josha Vagnoman turned the ball into his own net, and Bayern surged clear, scoring four unanswered goals overall to begin the season with an emphatic 5-1 win at the Allianz Arena.
Stuttgart fashioned the first major opening in the fifth minute when Joshua Kimmich and Kim Min-jae failed to communicate, allowing Dženan Pejčinović a clear run on goal. But Pejčinović, making his Bundesliga debut for Stuttgart, tried to square it instead, and Dayot Upamecano dealt with the danger before the ball went behind for a corner.
Stuttgart continued to produce most of the early opportunities and nearly went ahead in the 12th minute. A deflected header dropped kindly for Tiago Tomás inside the box, and the Portuguese forward reacted quickly, only to see his effort come back off the crossbar.
Michael Olise almost made Stuttgart pay for those missed chances. In the 17th minute, the Frenchman bent a free-kick against the post, coming very close to finding the top corner.
Even so, Bayern did not have to wait much longer for the breakthrough. Four minutes later, Joshua Kimmich whipped in a corner towards the near post, where Upamecano got the decisive flick to make it 1-0 to the Bavarians.
Vincent Kompany’s team might have doubled the lead almost immediately when a superb pass from Harry Kane released Luis Díaz in a two-on-one situation. Díaz, however, struck straight at Stuttgart goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow.
Bayern appealed for a penalty in the 33rd minute after Olise went down heavily on the edge of the box following a challenge from Maximilian Mittelstädt. The referee signalled for play to continue, and Stuttgart won a free-kick shortly afterwards.
Bredlow then produced an outstanding stop from Nathaniel Brown in the 38th minute, tipping the ball over the bar. Brown, naturally a left-back but deployed in an attacking midfield role, had burst forward and been picked out by an excellent pass from Alphonso Davies.
Bredlow was called into action again from the resulting corner, climbing well to punch the ball clear. Just before the interval, he made another important save, this time keeping out Konrad Laimer from close range.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper completed his fourth and final save of the first half just before the whistle, comfortably gathering an Olise backheel to ensure it remained 1-0 at the break.
Bayern began the second half as they had ended the first, dominating possession and continuing to test Bredlow. Then, in the 52nd minute, Stuttgart struck back. Jeff Chabot met a cross and forced a save from Manuel Neuer, but Vagnoman reacted first to the rebound and hammered it beyond Neuer for 1-1.
Stuttgart’s celebrations were short-lived. Kimmich gathered a poor clearance, drove forward with the ball and then slipped a neat pass into Olise. Given that amount of time and space, the Frenchman made no mistake, restoring Bayern’s advantage.
Only moments later, Stuttgart suffered another setback. Davies sent over what looked like a harmless cross, but Vagnoman lost his footing on the rain-soaked pitch and diverted the ball into his own goal, handing Bayern a 3-1 lead just six minutes after he had brought Stuttgart level.
Bayern were not finished there. Ismael Saibari, introduced only a few minutes earlier in place of Brown, won possession back. Kane then delivered an excellent pass to Olise, who wrong-footed a defender and finished past Bredlow for what looked like Bayern’s fourth. However, the effort was ruled out for a narrow offside.
Stuttgart nearly reduced the deficit in the 72nd minute, but substitute Ermedin Demirović sent his close-range effort just over the bar.
Bayern kept the pressure on, and Pavlović forced Bredlow into a full-length diving save to concede a corner. Then, in the 82nd minute, Bayern finally found their fourth. Saibari ran onto an Olise long ball, sold Finn Jeltsch with a dummy shot, and squared it for Pavlović to tap home and make it 4-1.
Díaz then almost added a fifth after Bredlow made a questionable decision to rush out and challenge for the ball. But the Colombian winger could not direct his shot on target, sending it behind for a goal-kick.
Díaz eventually got on the scoresheet. Tom Bischof won the ball near midfield and launched a quick counterattack, Saibari then picked out Díaz with a pass, and this time the winger finished neatly past Bredlow to seal the 5-1 scoreline.
Bayern are back in action in midweek, taking on VfL Osnabrück in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday. Stuttgart will look to respond next Friday when they face 1. FC Köln.
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