Rampant Bayern blasted a record eight away goals past outclassed St Pauli on Saturday, sealing third place in the Bundesliga and a Champions League qualifying spot at a minimum, as Andries Jonker’s side made the most of a men-against-boys situation for most of a one-sided afternoon.
The 24,487 full house at the Millerntor stadium in Hamburg saw deadly striker Mario Gomez open the scoring with the first chance of the match, before Daniel van Buyten doubled the lead on the half-hour to confirm the visitors’ effortless superiority.
Pauli came out fighting for the second half, but FCB killed off the brief rally with a double whammy on 53 minutes, Gomez netting his 26th goal of the season and Arjen Robben blasting home from close range. Franck Ribery made it five a quarter-hour from time, but although Marcel Eger headed a consolation for the home side, the gulf in class was evidenced by further goals for Robben, Gomez and Ribery before the end.
The win, coupled with Hannover’s 2-1 defeat to Stuttgart, means Munich can finish no lower than third in the Bundesliga, as they lie five ahead of Hannover on 62 points from 33 matches, and are only three off second-placed Leverkusen with one game to go. The Bavarians can still finish second if they win their final match of the campaign, the home meeting with VfB Stuttgart next Saturday, and Leverkusen lose away to Freiburg.
Caretaker boss Jonker made just a single change to the side which swept Schalke aside in a scintillating performance last week, Luiz Gustavo returning from suspension in place of Holger Badstuber.
The Brazilian took his place alongside Van Buyten at centre-half, with Diego Contento and captain Philipp Lahm at full-back, and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk partnering Bastian Schweinsteiger in central midfield. Messrs Robben, Müller, Ribery and Gomez made, as usual, for a fearsome attacking unit.
The afternoon opened with an emotional farewell to Pauli boss Holger Stanislawski, an 18-year servant of the club as player and official, but once referee Thorsten Kinhöfer whistled play underway on a blazing hot afternoon in the northern port city, FCB were soon in the driving seat and had the lead after just ten minutes.
There seemed little danger when Müller hooked a speculative ball into the box, but Markus Thorandt suicidally attempted to find keeper Thomas Kessler with his chest, allowing Gomez to nick in and net off the keeper’s legs at the second time of asking.
Ribery and Robben had already let off range-finders, and Schweinsteiger came within an ace of making it two in the move immediately following the goal, but the pace dropped for a spell until Müller warmed Kessler’s gloves from an angle, Schweinsteiger fired over the bar, and Tymoshchuk’s goalbound shot foundered in a forest of legs.
The second goal seemed only a matter of time, and it arrived just after the half-hour when van Buyten rose to meet Robben’s near-post corner, the Belgian’s flicked header flashing into the net off the luckless Thorandt. Fully 40 minutes had been played before Jörg Butt was forced to make a save, and it was a routine affair too from Florian Lechner’s hopeful swerver.
Badstuber replaced the injured Gustavo on 43 minutes, and there was one more incident before the interval as Butt reacted superbly to block from Dennis Daube as the FCB defence fell asleep for the first and only time in the half.
Stanislawski went for broke after the interval, and substitute forwards Marius Ebbers and Florian Bruns were soon in the thick of the action with a couple of half-chances. Lechner rattled the outside of a post from long distance, but the ploy meant leaving gaps at the back, and the visitors put an end to the minor revival with two clinically-taken goals in a minute.
With the clock ticking over to 53 minutes played, Gomez latched onto Robben’s inch-perfect pass and slid the ball through Kessler’s legs, before Robben crashed home the fourth from close range after Müller’s clever cut-back not 60 seconds later.
With Pauli’s fate well and truly sealed, the match took on the character of a friendly at times, although there was little friendliness in evidence as Fin Bartels and Ribery squared up, each man earning himself a booking. Miro Klose and Toni Kroos took over from Müller and Schweinsteiger for the last 20 minutes, but it was Ribery who side-footed home the fifth on 74 minutes after Kessler blocked when Gomez looked certain to score.
Eger nodded home a near-post free-kick to net his side a consolation four minutes later, but Robben, fully ten yards from goal, restored the five-goal margin with a superbly-executed header from Ribery’s pinpoint cross with six minutes to play. Bayern were not finished yet, as Gomez completed yet another hat-trick from Robben’s unselfish lay-off, and Ribery curled goal number eight before Mr Kinhöfer put Pauli out of their misery with the final whistle on a memorable afternoon in Hamburg.
