Bayern Munich won 14-1 in their first pre-season friendly of the 2024/25 campaign, dispatching ninth-division side FC Rottach-Egern in their regular fixture.
While many clubs would celebrate the result and move on, there should be reasons for concern for new manager Vincent Kompany. A 14-1 win is a considerable reduction of goals from their 27-0 victory at the beginning of last pre-season, while they simply shouldn't concede against a side eight full tiers below them in the German football pyramid.
Bayern also beat Rottach-Ergen 20-2 in 2018, followed by a 23-0 win a year later. The signs are even more concerning when considering that when the teams first met in 2006, they played out the same 14-1 scoreline.
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Come the end of the 2006/07 season, Bayern were without a trophy, having finished 4th in the Bundesliga, being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the third round and only managing to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Should the same happen come the end of the 2024/25 campaign, then it's likely Kompany will be relieved of his duties.
So - are there teething problems for Kompany at Die Rotten?
Well, no. Bayern were without a number of first team stars for the friendly game, with Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Joshua Kimmich, Dayot Upamecano, Mathijs de Ligt, Leroy Sane, Manuel Neuer and many others all yet to return to training following their Euro 2024 exertions.
While Leon Goretzka, Eric Dier, Raphael Guerreiro and Josip Stanisic all started, young players like Adin Licina, Javier Fernandez and Gabriel Vidovic were all included, too. The bench had even fewer options, with Kim Min-jae the only recognised first teamer among them - and Kompany made wholesale changes at half-time.
Bayern Munich now face a game against fourth-division side FC Duren in their next match on Saturday, before flying to South Korea to take on Tottenham Hotspur in Seoul. Bizarrely, they'll play Spurs again, seven days later back in London, before playing Ulm in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on August 16.
Kompany will have plenty of pressure on him for the new season, as Bayern failed to win a single trophy last season. Bayer Leverkusen were the league's standout team, with Stuttgart also finishing above Bayern in the Bundesliga.
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