Bayern Munich 5-0 Freiburg: Ruthless Die Roten go second in Bundesliga
By Mitch Wilks
Bayern Munich made light work of SC Freiburg in a dominant 5-0 victory on Sunday, leapfrogging their visitors in the Bundesliga table in doing so.
It took just 13 minutes for Serge Gnabry to fire Bayern ahead at the Allianz Arena, sharply heading in a rebound following a fine save from Leroy Sane's initial effort.
Julian Nagelsmann's side were suddenly performing like champions once again, having gone into the game seventh in the table. Gnabry almost made it a brace for himself after 21 minutes, forcing a save out of Freiburg goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who put in an inspired performance all things considered.
But for all of Flekken's efforts, Bayern had their second just after half an hour, when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting shrugged off Matthias Ginter to make good on Sane's pass and find the back of the net for 2-0.
Sane and Gnabry were well and truly at the races, adding an unrelenting flair and pace to Bayern's attack that continued to wear down Freiburg. Gnabry forced another fine save out of Flekken shortly before half-time, who did well to keep the deficit down to just two goals.
Bayern didn't let up after the break and continued where they left off, playing like they had it all to prove and dominating Christian Streich's side. Sane finally got in on the act just seven minutes into the second half, making it 3-0 with a brilliant, curled effort from the edge of the box that left Flekken helpless.
Gnabry was relentless in his pursuit of another goal, but when not denied by Flekken, was denied by the woodwork. Mere minutes after he struck the post, though, he played a brilliant pass to set through Sadio Mane who made it 4-0.
With the result all but secured, Bayern weren't finished. Wholesale Freiburg changes stopped the rot for a period of time, but didn't bring them any closer to finding consolation in Munich. Instead, it was Bayern substitute Marcel Sabitzer who came off the bench to deliver a misery compiling fifth, following an exceptional, mazy run from Gnabry.
Victory for Nagelsmann's side is a much-needed one and extends their unbeaten run to five games in all competitions, while closing the gap to league leaders Union Berlin to just four points, following a poor start to the season.