Upon entrance, Thomas Müller delivers a strike, leading FC Bayern to victory
Bayern Munich has consistently struggled against SC Freiburg, but managed to turn things around in their opening home game of the season. The VAR granted them a lead at half-time, thankfully, as they've had issues against Freiburg for years. Vincent Kompany, their new coach, brought in club veteran Thomas Müller at half-time, and he scored shortly after, securing the three points.
In this match, legend Thomas Müller provided a winning debut for coach Vincent Kompany in a significant game. Bayern Munich, the dominant team, convincingly defeated SC Freiburg 2-0 (1-0), but faced challenges for much of the game. Müller's goal in the 78th minute put an end to any lingering doubts, scoring in his 710th game for FCB. Unfortunately for Bayern, 1. FC Heidenheim shocked them by denying them the opportunity to take the lead in the league.
Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane opened the scoring in the 38th minute after a controversial hand penalty decision following a VAR review. The Englishman was celebrated prior to the game for his 36 goals in the previous season, earning him the top scorer's award. This season, this was his first goal. Lucas Höler almost scored a hand penalty for Freiburg at the closing moments of the game.
Müller also had a reason to celebrate: Introduced in the 59th minute, he became the sole record holder. The 2014 World Cup winner, who already holds the Bayern record with 475 Bundesliga appearances, surpassed iconic goalkeeper Sepp Maier. Only 19 minutes after coming on, he scored his 245th goal for Bayern, earning applause from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer who ran out of the goal to congratulate him.
In a home game filled with Bayern legends like Maier, Hoeneß, and Breitner, who were honored for their 50-year anniversary of the Bundesliga triumph, Kompany presented a daring lineup. He fielded just two defenders, Min-Jae Kim and Dayot Upamecano, and often saw Joshua Kimmich dropping back. Kompany mentioned before the game on DAZN, "We need offensive players on the field to score goals."
Initially, Bayern struggled with implementing this strategy. They dominated the game but couldn't create chances. Freiburg, who had triumphed 3-1 against Stuttgart in their previous game, played compactly and made frequent forays forward. Whenever openings arose, the Munich team lacked accuracy. Even highly praised youngster Michael Olise couldn't make much impact early on. It took almost 20 minutes for Jamal Musiala, Olise, and Mathys Tel to create their first opportunities.
The Bayern needed VAR support during an intense first half, where Freiburg posed no offensive threat. Kane headed the ball onto Max Rosenfelder's hand, referee Christian Dingert awarded a penalty after a video review. After half-time, the guest team coached by Schuster became more active in front of an audience of 75,000. Patrick Osterhage tested Manuel Neuer (60.) and the game became more open. Kingsley Coman came close to scoring (72.), before Müller had his moment.
In the aforementioned match, SC Freiburg posed a significant challenge to Bayern Munich, despite Bayern eventually emerging victorious with a 2-0 scoreline. Despite the dominance of Bayern, Thomas Müller, introduced at half-time by coach Vincent Kompany, played a crucial role, scoring the second goal and securing the three points for SC Freiburg's longtime adversary.
