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Although it was a one-sided affair in the second half, the match started off very evenly-balanced. Unlike many Bundesliga opponents, Hamburg didn't try to sit back and play for a draw: both sides were pressing forward, and there was plenty of end-to-end action in a fast-paced start.
In the first half hour, Ribery and Mandzukic both went close, but HSV gave as good as they got (especially a long strike that nearly got inside the post after a corner was half-cleared). But it was Bayern that broke through with 6 minutes in the half, as Müller won a header, Kroos turned it into a 1-v-1, Adler shut down his chance to shoot, but Kroos waited for Bastian to fill in the area and sent him in a cross:
Great goal, and it put Bayern in the driver's seat going into the half. And in the second half, it didn't take long for Bayern to double the advantage, with Tommy calmly curling one in from an impossibly tight angle:
After that point, the party was on, and the Kroos-de-grace came a few minutes later:
Some thoughts:
- I think this was probably the most complete match Bayern has played this year. Considering the opponent's strength, being on the road in a tough environment, coming off a tough loss, we really answered the bell. Defensively, there weren't too many breakdowns, and we cleared the ball well after HSV's few chances.
- It's hard to figure out who starts this week. Franck, Toni and Tommy looked unstoppable out there today. But Robben also played so well in the mid-week match. Whatever happens, someone's going to be sitting on the bench despite excellent form. Stay tuned.
- Some pretty terrible outcomes with my predictions. I won't complain, though - as it stands, Bayern has a 7 point cushion at the top of the table. We've got two straight at home coming up: a Champions League clash vs. Lille, then we host Eintracht Frankfurt next week.
We'll be back with more later. A few more good Bundesliga matches left this weekend, so maybe we'll do Bundesliga News and Notes tomorrow. Thanks for reading.