By Agency Reports
Bayern Munich vs Auckland City lived up to its billing as a mismatch for the ages as the kings of German football romped to the biggest victory in Club World Cup history in Cincinnati.
Jamal Musiala led the way with a second-half hat-trick while Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise and Thomas Muller all scored twice as Bayern made short work of their part-time opponents from New Zealand, with Sacha Boey and Thomas Muller also getting themselves on the scoresheet at TQL Stadium, with Bayern’s 10-0 win surpassing Al Hilal’s 6-1 victory over Al Jazira in 2022.
Bayern are the early pacesetters in Group C after an emphatic tournament-opening triumph, with Boca Juniors and Benfica meeting in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday (kick-off 6pm ET/11pm UK time).
Here, Seb Stafford-Bloor and Jordan Campbell break down the main talking points from a record-setting day in the Club World Cup, including a muted atmosphere and a protest banner held up by fans in the stands.
The expectation was that Vincent Kompany may consider Auckland’s semi-pro status and name a slightly weaker team to usher Bayern into the tournament.
Unfortunately for Conor Tracey in goal, who is on unpaid leave from his job at a veterinary supply warehouse, the Belgian was in no mood for going easy on the New Zealanders.
He named more or less a full-strength XI and it was no surprise that they went on to set a new tournament record for the margin of victory.
Before the newly-expanded edition this summer, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal held the record having beaten UAE club Al Jazira 6-1 in 2022.
The other heaviest scorelines include Esperance beating Al Sadd 6-2 in 2019, Monterrey beating Al Ahly 5-1 in 2013, Barcelona beating Santos 4-0 in 2011 and Manchester City beating Fluminense 4-0 in 2023. On Sunday afternoon, Bayern became the first team to ever score seven goals in one game at a Club World Cup.
Having gone 4-0 up inside 20 minutes there may have been the expectation that the Bundesliga giants would take their foot off the gas, but the competition’s five-substitute rules added insult to injury as more top-class players came on looking to fill their boots.
From the very start it was clear that this was going to be a cricket score. Watching such an uncompetitive game take place at a competition billed as the 32 best teams in the world is a clear contradiction and calls into question whether it makes a mockery of the tournament.
It will have doubtlessly felt a tad embarrassing for Auckland’s players, even if they know they are part-timers up against elite multi-millionaires with access to the best facilities, but the alternative argument is that this is what true worldwide representation means.
In the World Cup, there have been heavy defeats, so it is not exactly new to see such mismatches. Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the 2014 World Cup after all but the last game where a team finished in double figures in a World Cup match was in 1982 when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1.
@New York Times