Bayern Munich crush Hamburg 5-0 at Bundesliga opener

Berlin, Aug 15: Bayern Munich started their fourth title defense with a 5-0 victory over Hamburg in the 53rd Bundesliga season opener on Friday.

The title-holders staged a relentless performance against hapless "HSV" who posed no threat for most of the time. Bayern's Medhi Benatia broke the deadlock in the first half before the German record champions gained momentum after the break to score four second-half goals, reported Xinhua.

Bayern took the reins from the kick-off but it were yet the visitors who reaped the first chance of the game when Lewis Holtby unleashed a shot on target. As the match progressed, Bayern piled on the pressure to work out opportunities through Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski.

The "Bavarians" were finally able to break the deadlock with 27 minutes into the game as Medhi Benatia headed home Xabi Alonso's pinpoint free-kick at the far post. Hamburg failed to respond but Rene Adler was on guard to deny Jerome Boateng's long-range effort just before the break.

Pep Guardiola's men caught a bright start into the second half as Robert Lewandowski made use of a rebound to slot home into the bottom left in the 53rd minute. Rafinha had the chance to extend the lead from 10 meters but goalkeeper Rene Adler made a save moments later.

With the two-goal lead behind, the German giants increased the pressure as new arrival Douglas Costa crossed the ball with the outside of the boot to assist Thomas Mueller, who nodded home from close range in the 70th minute. Lewandowski played a one-two, allowing Mueller to seal his brace three minutes later.

The "HSV" were unable to put up some resistance hence Douglas Costa capitalized on a moment of madness by Matthias Osterzolek, who lost the ball in Hamburg's goal area, to tap in the final 5-0 score with four minutes remaining.

Following are the fixtures for Saturday: Leverkusen face Hoffenheim, Augsburg meet Berlin, Bremen host Schalke, Mainz see newly promoted Ingolstadt, newly promoted Darmstadt encounter Hannover and Dortmund clash with Monchengladbach.