Bayern Munich 4-0 Atletico Madrid: 5 Talking Points as European champions kick off title defence in stunning style | UEFA Champions League 2020/21
Reigning UEFA Champions League champions Bayern Munich got their title defence off to a flying start with a comfortable 4-0 win over Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
Hansi Flick's men have come to be known as the most ruthless side in Europe and did not harm that reputation with another memorable bashing. Atletico Madrid appeared to be in the game for not longer than the first half an hour as once Kingsley Coman opened the scoring on 28 minutes; the floodgates had opened.
The Frenchman broke the deadlock, and Bayern Munich needed no further invitation to put the game to bed with a series of stunning strikes that followed. Coman set up Leon Goretzka for Bayern's second after just over ten minutes since his goal.
The second half saw more of the same as Bayern Munich were relentless in their approach, and they scored two more fantastic goals to seal the tie. Corentin Tolisso unleashed a thunderous strike from outside the box to triple their score and Coman, once again, ran through the Atletico defence like they were training cones and beat Jan Oblak with a cool finish.
Bayern Munich have firmly established themselves as the favourites to retain their European crown with this resounding victory. Here, we take a look at the major talking points form the game.
#5 Strength in depth reiterates Bayern's credentials
One of the most apparent strengths that Hansi Flick's men boast of is their ruthless nature on the pitch. From their inspirational leader, Manuel Neuer, defending their goal to Robert Lewandowski, the best striker in the world, they are blessed with an incredible amount of quality all over. What's even scarier, though, is the depth that they have.
The Bayern Munich side that dismantled Atletico Madrid by a scoreline of 4-0 featured the likes of Lewandowski, Joshua Kimmich, Neuer, and other established superstars on the pitch. This is made to look even more impressive considering the list of players who didn't start the game or weren't available to partake in the fixture.
They had the luxury to call upon the likes of Douglas Costa and one of the critical members of their treble-winning side, Alphonso Davies, from the bench to close out the game. Elsewhere, the fact that they managed this incredible scoreline without two superstar attackers in Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry, who were both unavailable due to injury and a positive COVID result respectively, is simply devastating.
Bayern Munich have not only assembled the best first XI on the continent but also, arguably, the best roster of players in the world. It's no surprise that they're favourites to become only the second side after Real Madrid to retain their UCL crown.
#4 A night to forget for Luis Suarez and Atletico's toothless attack
It's not the most straightforward task in the world to go to the home of the reigning European champions and trouble their living legend of a goalkeeper, Neuer, too much. That being said, Atletico failed to leave as much of scratch on the Bavarians' goal, let alone actually breach it.
Much of it had to to with the talismanic Luis Suarez, who had a forgettable night at the Allianz Arena.
The Uruguayan, who was infamously ousted from the Nou Camp in the summer, got off to a flying start to life as a Rojiblanco with a stunning two-goal cameo on his LaLiga Santander debut. However, on his UCL debut, he was marshalled expertly by Bayern's defence, and he could provide nearly nothing to Atletico's struggling frontline. In total, El Pistolero managed just one shot in 76 minutes against Bayern, which was a wayward, harmless attempt in the first half.
Joao Felix appeared to be the club's only hope going forward after lighting up the pitch in his last UCL game, which was a cameo against RB Leipzig to bring his side back into the quarter-final. However, much like Suarez, he was anonymous on the night, with the exception of an impressive run or two. While the Portuguese has time on his side, his South American strike partner is on the other end of the spectrum.
Suarez is far from the man who can help Atletico in their crunch UCL encounters, and his dismal record in the competition away from home speaks for itself.
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