FULL TIME: Bayern 3, Stuttgart 0. First impressions were correct. Stuttgart made a little noise with isolated counters, but they never seriously threatened Bayern and were outshot a whopping 24-4, conceding twelve corners in the process. Credit to the Stuttgart fans, though: the stands were full and loud down to the end. Good luck to them going forward! 90’ — Kimmich fires a parting shot Zieler’s way, and that’s the game! 86’ — Stuttgart launch a promising attack, but Thiago unceremoniously taps the ball away just outside the penalty area. James takes a long-range effort on the subsequent attack, but blasts the ball as high over the net as he was standing away from goal. Oops. 80’ — Substitution: Corentin Tolisso now comes on for Müller. 78’ — Substitutions: James Rodriguez and Serge Gnabry replace Ribery and Robben. 77’ — GOAL for Bayern! Thomas Müller! But what an assist, folks! Joshua Kimmich fires in a fast lateral cross for Lewandowski, who uses his heel to flick the ball behind him to Thomas Müller, who deftly puts the ball past Zieler into the net. Lewandowski Müller = Goal Bayern extend their lead to 3-0 over Stuttgart. pic.twitter.com/EChDrNcTGe — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 1, 2018 72’ — Goretzka attempts to rabona a very promising pass from Lewandowski but completely misses the ball, wasting a chance at a goal. 67’ — Mats Hummels flirts with disaster in Bayern’s penalty area, tapping the ball away while Maffeo goes to the ground. But Maffeo had played the ball too far ahead anyway. No foul, let alone penalty, is given. 62’ — GOAL for Bayern! Robert Lewandowski! At last it has happened. Thomas Müller cross the ball centrally to Leon Goretzka who finds himself side by side with Lewandowski. Goretzka taps the ball on to Lewandowski, who turns and slots the ball past Zieler into the far right corner. Lewandowski's at it again! Bayern's goal machine doubles the lead in Stuttgart. pic.twitter.com/dgFMHloxNU — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 1, 2018 57’ — Substitution: Thommy comes on to replace — Donis? Tayfun Korkut has opted to yank arguably the best performing player on their team. The crowd does not seem amused. 56’ — No rest for Zieler: Bayern continues to dance around Stuttgart’s goal, finally giving Hummels a chance to head the ball at the near post. Zieler parries and collects it. 55’ — Lewandowski misfires off a low cross by Müller, as Kimmich initiates an attack with a long pass to Robben. 53’ — Goretzka misses the target wide on Bayern’s tenth corner of the match. 51’ — Part of Kovac’s plan for Bayern’s center-backs appears to include allowing Jerome Boateng the freedom to drive forward up the pitch. On the last play, Boateng nearly made a solo strike up through the middle, penetrating as far as the edge of Stuttgart’s penalty area, while Joshua Kimmich lingered back in his spot alongside Hummels to cover. 49’ — Bayern wins a free kick from well outside the box. David Alaba sets up to take it... Low off the left post! So close! Second half! — The second half is underway. In case you missed it, check out that amazing video of Leon Goretzka’s goal: Thomas Müller got the assist because right after he passed the ball to Robert Lewandowski, he tapped it away from him through his legs on to Goretzka to shoot. In other words, he simultaneously dispossessed and nutmegged Lewandowski to get the assist. Lol, Müller’d. 45’ — HALFTIME! Bayern Munich leave the first half with a one-goal lead that almost feels disappointing, given how thoroughly they have dominated Stuttgart, eleven shots to one. 43’ — Müller fires a shot over Zieler from a tight angle near the left post. He’s made that shot before, but not today. 41’ — Ron Robert Zieler keeps Stuttgart alive, blocking a solid header by Mats Hummels on a corner kick. 40’ — Leon nearly makes it 2-0 with yet another good shot that is deflected out of bounds. 37’ — GOAL for Bayern! Leon Goretzka: Leon “ze professional” Goretzka has opened his goal accoutn with Bayern. The play begins with a forward pass from Jerome Boateng to Thomas Müller on the right. Müller immediately plays the ball inside to Robert Lewandowski. Lewandowski nearly loses the ball, so Müller taps it through his legs (!) further left to Goretzka, who turns and shoots. A goal — on just his 12th touch! Leon Goretzka scores his first goal for Bayern and puts them ahead 1-0! pic.twitter.com/jZLM8utLl8 — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 1, 2018 35’ — Stuttgart launches a dangerous attack on a brutally hard foul on Franck Ribery by Stuttgart’s Insua. The referee’s whistle stays silent. After he is briefly treated on the sideline, Ribery fortunately can continue. 31’ — After a fantastic dribble into the box, Ribery overhits a cross intended for Robben’s head. 28’ — Stuttgart waste a golden opportunity deep in Bayern’s penalty area. Gomez finds himself with the ball, but just cannot get either a shot or a timely pass off to Donis, who is left gesturing frantically. 23’ — Leon Goretzka heads the ball wide of the far post off an excellent cross by Kimmich. 21’ — Ribery protests after Donis wipes him out with a hard tackle. Bayern have won several more corners, while Stuttgart has answered only with isolated counters. 16’ — Joshua Kimmich takes a shot off the volley, but Benjamin Pavard manages to block it and clear the ball away. 13’ — Thomas Müller is visibly angry after a very scary looking tackle nearly takes him out. Gayern win a free kick on the right side of the box, but can’t convert. Stuttgart counter, but Bayern manage to collect themselves before it’s too late. 8’ — Thiago Alcantara takes Bayern’s second corner of the match. Ron Robert Zieler is able to parry away the threat. 4’ — Boateng defuses a Stuttgart attack with a tackle. Boateng played the ball, but the referee calls a foul for the hardness of the subsequent tackle. Stuttgart can’t do anything with the ensuing free kick.<doc-sep>Jersey Swap: Santiago Ascacibar This might be a little bit controversial, as Anastasios Donis put in a really good performance, but in my opinion Santiago Ascacibar actually caused Bayern Munich the most problems in the game. His muscle on the ball and doubling up on the flanks was important to break the Robben-Kimmich partnership that threatened to overrun the right flank, and he did launch a good counter once. It wasn’t a great performance by Stuttgart overall, so that’s pretty much the extent of his jersey-swap performance. Tip of the Cap: Leon Goretzka This was hard. I was torn between giving the TotC to Jerome Boateng or Goretzka, but eventually I settled on the latter because of his opening goal and the assist for Lewandowski. Goretzka’s performance wasn’t sublime by any means — he ventured far too far forward at times, leaving a huge gap between the defense and midfield which Thiago had to fill. A more disciplined performance will be expected from him next time, but for now, a goal and an assist on your league debut at a new club isn’t too bad. Golf Clap: Robert Lewandowski Goal and assist. What can I say? A striker’s job is to score, and Lewandowski did it in exemplary fashion. The goal was slotted in beautifully from a layoff by Goretzka, and the backheel assist to Thomas Muller was just a treat. Beyond this, Lewy was usual self — strong holdup play, harassing defenders, and good runs into the box. Really, this was a textbook Lewandowski performance. Standing Ovation: Thiago Alcantara I can barely begin to describe how good Thiago was in this game, so let me give you some stats instead: 123 touches 106 Passes 1 Key pass 96% Pass accuracy 2 Dribbles 6 Tackles 3 Interceptions 2 Clearances Thiago was simply sublime in every aspect of the game. He linked the attack and defense while Goretzka was off doing his own thing, and he stopped Stuttgart’s counterattacks in their tracks. To be honest, Thiago was so dominant that you’d be forced to wonder why Stuttgart even bothered to play midfielders. As far as the Spaniard was concerned, they might as well have been traffic cones. Thiago’s presence kept the team in control and defensively solid, so he easily deserves this award. Meister of the Match: Thomas Muller Now, I considered giving Muller the SO and Thiago the Meister, but then I remembered Goretzka’s goal. How often do you see your attacking midfielder dispossess your striker inside the opponent’s box and then nutmeg him for an assist? Simply put, that opening goal never happens without Thomas Muller’s unique way of seeing the game. A non-Raumdeuter doesn’t make that pass. A player who doesn’t know exactly where his teammates are at all times doesn't make that pass. A player without incredible split-second decision making doesn’t make that pass. Thomas Muller did. That unorthodox goal changed the course of the game, and it’s why Thomas Muller gets this award today. He’s our special man, the guy who makes our attack one level better than it’s supposed to be. This is a well-deserved Meister for the Raumdeuter.<doc-sep>MUNICH, GERMANY - MAY 12: Thomas Mueller of FC Bayern Muenchen runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and VfB Stuttgart at Allianz Arena on May 12, 2018 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) Stuttgart face Bayern Munich at Mercedes-Benz Arena on Saturday, Sept. 1. Here’s all the info you need to watch online. Bayern Munich opened the Bundesliga season against Hoffenheim, winning 3-1. On Saturday, the defending champions head to Stuttgart for the second game of the season. The Reds lost their season debut 1-0 to Mainz. Stuttgart finished seventh last season. After a rough first half of the season, the club fired Hannes Wolf and hired Tayfun Korkut. The move was criticized at the time but completely turned around Stuttgart’s season. Over the final 14 games, Stuttgart lost only one game and picked up 31 points. Korkut’s second season in charge will be a test for a manager who has never managed a club for longer than a season and a half. Stuttgart should be a strong defensive team this season. French World Cup star Benjamin Pavard had a breakout performance last season. After playing full-back in Russia, Pavard will play his natural position of center-back alongside former Bayern player Holger Badstuber. However, Stuttgart could struggle to score goals this season. The club is overly reliant on 33-year-old Mario Gomez, who scored eight goals in the second half of the season after re-joining Stuttgart in the winter transfer window. Getting the ball to Gomez could be difficult for Stuttgart who have a weak midfield. Bayern needed a late goal from Robert Lewandowski to beat Hoffenheim on the opening day of the season. Lewandowski remains one of the best strikers in the world and should score more than 30 goals this season. Bayern’s win on the opening day of the season came at a cost. Kingsley Coman suffered another ankle injury and the French winger will be out until December. The injury forces Bayern to remain reliant on Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. The two players are club legends but are both in their mid-30s they have lost a step. Serge Gnabry missed the first game with an injury but with Coman hurt, Bayern need Gnabry to get healthy. Gnabry was signed last season with the team hoping he could emerge as a future replacement for Robben and Ribery. The Bundesliga match between Stuttgart and Bayern Munich will be broadcast on FS2. Live streaming is available on Fox Sports Go, which you can access with your cable or satellite subscription, either online or through their app. Date: Saturday, Sept. 1 Start Time: 12:30 p.m. ET Location: Stuttgart, Germany Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Arena TV info: FS2 Live Stream: Fox Sports Go | Fubo.TV. Sign up for a free seven-day trial here. Stuttgart and Bayern split the two games played last season with both teams winning away from home. Bayern won 1-0 but returned to the Allianz Arena for the last game of the season and lost 4-1.<doc-sep>Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovač is aware that a crazy week of testimonials, transfers, international call-ups, and the Champions League drawing can be a bit distracting, but is determined to keep Die Roten focused on the task at hand; namely today’s match against Die Schwaben: The Champions League is in three weeks, the Bundesliga is our bread and butter. The expectations in Stuttgart are high, that makes it more difficult for us. We’ll have to fight. We want to win there but it’s not going to be easy. For a team that has sometimes needed a reminder to stay focused on the task at hand, it is good to see Kovač addressing the need to laser in on Stuttgart. Hannover 96 and Borussia had a largely uneventful match yesterday that ended up in a 0-0 draw (Christian Pulisic being out injured + no goals = an awesome way to capture the American audience on a Friday afternoon! ), but the entire broadcast was saved by this gentleman below and his stellar attempt to head a ball that traveled into the stands. Hilarity ensued when he fell and wrecked a little kid in the process: If you really want a treat, watch the (non-)reaction of the guys sitting in the the row where this happened. There is no emotion, no intent to help...just apathy. Well done, boys! Now that it’s over, let’s take a quick look back at the 2018 Summer transfer window, who the Bavarians brought in and how it affected players who were on Bayer’s roster at some point last season: Who’s in Leon Goretzka : No brainer on a free; could be a midfield stalwart here for 10 years. I could not be more excited about the prospect of Goretzka hitting his prime in Munich. No brainer on a free; could be a midfield stalwart here for 10 years. I could not be more excited about the prospect of Goretzka hitting his prime in Munich. Serge Gnabry : Returned from loan to Hoffenheim and should be an excellent fit when healthy. Returned from loan to Hoffenheim and should be an excellent fit when healthy. Renato Sanches: Returned from a disastrous loan to Swansea City and will absolutely struggle to get playing time, but should get better by competing in training every day. Returned from a disastrous loan to Swansea City and will absolutely struggle to get playing time, but should get better by competing in training every day. Alphonso Davies : The 17-year old Canadian phenom was a tremendous value pickup and will join Bayern in January after turning 18. The move reportedly only cost Bayern somewhere in the neighborhood of €10M-€13M. Who’s out Arturo Vidal : Off to FC Barcelona, it was a necessary move for the top-flight midfielder to see more consistent playing time. The move brought back at least €16M (with the potential for more). Off to FC Barcelona, it was a necessary move for the top-flight midfielder to see more consistent playing time. The move brought back at least €16M (with the potential for more). Sebastian Rudy: Another move that was necessitated to cull the roster numbers. Rudy’s sublime skill-set will be a great fit with Schalke 04, who reportedly paid €15M for the Another move that was necessitated to cull the roster numbers. Rudy’s sublime skill-set will be a great fit with Schalke 04, who reportedly paid €15M for the Douglas Costa : The loan-to-sale purchase by Juventus made sense for all parties and allowed Bayern to pocket roughly €40M. The loan-to-sale purchase by Juventus made sense for all parties and allowed Bayern to pocket roughly €40M. Juan Bernat : At 25, Bernat needed to play and it wasn’t going to happen in Bavaria (barring a couple of injuries). A good move for all involved that cost Paris Saint-Germain somewhere around €15M. Some key, reserve team player who bolted include: Niklas Dorsch : Dorsch showed a lot of promise during the time he had with the senior team last season, but he would have been just one more midfielder hurdle to climb for Kovač. Dorsch left on a free transfer to 1. FC Heidenheim. Dorsch showed a lot of promise during the time he had with the senior team last season, but he would have been just one more midfielder hurdle to climb for Kovač. Dorsch left on a free transfer to 1. FC Heidenheim. Felix Götze: Götze’s ability to play the pivot, center back, and outside back still left him blocked on the depth chart in Munich, so the move to FC Augsburg was a necessity for the youngster. Note: The exact fees on transfers for Bayern are always a tough to discern, so we tried to go with some approximations of numbers in various reports. Meet Bayern’s big signing, Alphonso Davies. pic.twitter.com/6lXnH4Ts3X — FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 31, 2018 Robert Lewnadowski (Poland) and Renato Sanches (Portugal) joined the list of Bayern players, who were called to play for their countries. The running list now consists of the following: Germany: Thomas Muller , Mats Hummels , Jerome Boateng , Joshua Kimmich , Leon Goretzka, Niklas Süle, Manuel Neuer , , , , Leon Goretzka, Niklas Süle, France: Corentin Tolisso Corentin Tolisso Spain: Thiago Alcantara Poland: Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski Portugal: Renato Sanches Renato Sanches Austria: David Alaba Canada: Alphonso Davies (okay, technically not a Bayern player yet, but is on his way!) We are trying something here at the Daily Schmankerl and need YOUR help. If you read my man Tommy Adams’ piece about his experience with the FCBNYC Fan Club (if you haven’t, SHAME ON YOU! ), you could see how great the event was. So we want to highlight some of these wonderful groups that are out there globally and this is what we need from you: Name of the group Location Year founded Leadership (if you have people are kind of running the show) Meeting place Social media handles Pictures We have 7 clubs on board so far. I’d LOVE to be able to feature a different fan group every week this season.<doc-sep>
Stoic Stuttgart to give the champions a test Stuttgart v Bayern Munich Saturday 01 September, 17:30 Live on BT Sport 3 In days gone by, this southern classic between Stuttgart and Bayern Munich would've been expected to be an even contest between sides in contention for trophies. Stuttgart's "magic triangle" of Krasimir Balakov, Fredi Bobic and Giovane Elber fired them to the DFB Cup in 1997, and VfB won the league ten years later. Those days are long behind Stuttgart, but they finished an unexpected seventh in the Bundesliga last season, and now hope to build on that platform. The early signs have been disappointing - tame performances have seen them slip out of the cup at third-tier Hansa Rostock, and lose their Bundesliga opener 1-0 at Mainz. It's not all doom and gloom though. Stuttgart thrashed Bayern 4-1 in Munich at the end of last season, and while that result has to be viewed in its end-of-season-party context, it was still an impressive display. It's also worth noting that Stuttgart are much better at the Mercedes Benz Arena than they are on their travels - they are unbeaten in seven league games at home, an they only suffered three home defeats across the entirety of last season. Exciting Argentinian forward Nicolas Gonzalez should get another chance to partner Mario Gomez in attack, while Greek speedster Anastasios Donis hopes to return to action after he was left out entirely against Mainz. Bayern have won all three of their competitive games so far. They crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 in the Supercup, edged past Drochtersen/Assel in the DFB Cup, and eventually found a way to beat Hoffenheim 3-1, although that scoreline doesn't tell the whole story. Hoffenheim played really well after half-time at the Allianz Arena, and were undone by a controversial penalty award. Bayern only won 1-0 in Stuttgart last term, and they should be given a tough examination on Saturday evening. After two poor displays, former Bayern defender Holger Badstuber might be replaced by the younger and more mobile Timo Baumgartl, which would be a big improvement. In the other centre-back slot, World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard has the chance to impress potential future employers - Bayern are very keen on signing the Frenchman next summer. Bayern may well win this, but I think it'll be a tight game, and on that basis I'll happily give Stuttgart a goal-and-a-half headstart on the Asian Handicap. Tedesco's battlers to bounce back Schalke v Hertha Berlin Sunday 02 September, 17:00 Live on BT Sport 2 After finishing last season in second place, Schalke began this season with high hopes. They were never likely to be realistic title challengers, but another top-four finish and a decent Champions League effort (they have been given a kind draw in the group stage) will represent a good season. Last weekend's bizarre defeat at Wolfsburg was a setback, but in weird circumstances the Royal Blues actually played okay. They had defender Matija Nastasic dismissed after his yellow card was upgraded to a red (the DFB have since suggested this was the wrong decision), and there was also controversy about the decision to downgrade the red card shown to Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst. Hertha scraped a 1-0 home win against newly-promoted Nurnberg last weekend, and needed Norwegian keeper Rune Jarstein to have an outstanding game which included a penalty save. They lost home and away against Schalke without scoring last term, and Opta tell us they haven't netted against the Royal Blues since September 2016. They have lost on their last ten Bundesliga trips to Gelsenkirchen. Schalke are trading at 1.84/5 to win this, and given Hertha's atrocious record at the Veltins Arena, that looks too big a price to pass up. Leipzig to keep riding Europa League wave RB Leipzig v Fortuna Dusseldorf Sunday 02 September, 14:30 Live on BT Sport 2 For a long while it seemed as though RB Leipzig would follow their sister club Red Bull Salzburg in suffering a demoralising European defeat. However, while Salzburg threw their advantage away late on against Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League, Leipzig snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Ukrainian side Zorya. Die Roten Bullen recovered from 2-1 down to win 3-2, with Emil Forsberg's 90th-minute penalty proving to be the ultimate difference. With disaster averted, RBL can now focus on getting some Bundesliga points on the board.