Bayern Munich got the Vincent Kompany era off to a winning start as they beat second-tier side Ulm 4-0 to reach the second round of the DFB-Pokal.
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Bayern strolled to victory against UlmMuller bagged twice in Kompany's first gameOlise got assist before Kane killed it offTELL ME MORE
Although they dominated possession, Bayern had a slow start to the DFB-Pokal match and it was the 3. Liga champions who had the game's first shot. It was Maurice Krattenmacher, who is on loan from the Bavarian side after initially joining earlier this summer, who made the attempt from inside the Bayern box but the 19-year-old's effort was way off target.
The visiting giants soon took hold of the game, though, as the ball was worked down to Joshua Kimmich whose shot was diverted towards Thomas Muller for an easy finish. It was even more simple for the German legend three minutes later when Serge Gnabry was unleashed down the wing and squared for Muller to bury.
Kompany's men were on top from then on but did not create as many clear-cut opportunities as would be expected given they maintained around three-quarters of possession and boasted the likes of Muller, Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Kimmich, while Harry Kane and Kingsley Coman came off the bench for the final 30 minutes. They felt they should have been given a penalty in the 74th minute when Coman was brought down in the box, but the referee dismissed their calls.
Coman did manage to get in on the fun later when he met a low Michael Olise cross, with the new signing registering a debut assist just two minutes after he came off the bench to replace Gnabry.
Kane then rounded things off late on when he rose to get on the end of Muller's inviting cross and head into the net in the final action of the game.
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Muller's 14-minute brace against Ulm is the earliest double the experienced player has scored in his 708-game Bayern career, says.
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With Harry Kane benched for this game, Muller was trusted to lead the attack and the veteran forward did an excellent job, taking the first chance Bayern created to give his team the lead just 12 minutes in and then tucking away neatly to ensure a comfortable evening. The 34-year-old did not rest there, though, as he dropped back plenty to help create chances against the deep defence and ended up getting the assist for Kane as the cherry on top of his display.
Getty Images SportTHE BIG LOSER
Ulm goalkeeper Christian Ortag had an unlucky evening. First, his save from Kimmich's shot only deflected the ball into Muller's path to gift Bayern their first goal, but he was caught in the face in a collision with one of his team-mates and had to be substituted in the first half of what could be his team's biggest game of the season with a noticeable bump on his head.