Bayern Munich edged their way to a hard-fought 2-0 UEFA Champions League (UCL) victory over Atletico Madrid, whose nine-match unbeaten run came to an end with defeat at the Metropolitano.
This was a contest between two sides that had made bright starts to their respective domestic campaigns, but had not been at their imperious best in Europe’s premier cup competition.
Julian Alvarez looked to change that narrative for the hosts when he latched onto Alexander Sorloth’s flick-on before firing wide of the far post.
But it was Bayern who gradually asserted themselves in this contest, as Lennart Karl rifled his attempt over the bar following some fine link-up play involving Dayot Upamecano and Harry Kane.
Kane – who was aiming to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of scoring in 11 consecutive UCL games – went close to breaking the deadlock himself when his first-time effort went wide from Konrad Laimer’s cross.
Both sides lacked that cutting edge in the final third, but the entertainment certainly wasn’t in short supply, as Sorloth somehow failed to connect with Marc Pubill’s enticing delivery, while Josip Stanisic shot inches wide of the post in an absorbing first half.
Neither side mustered a shot on target before half-time, but that changed within the first minute of the restart when Joshua Kimmich’s long-range strike stung the palms of Jan Oblak.
Kane then made inroads into a central position and shot wide with a left-footed strike, but it was instead a less experienced source who drew first blood for Bayern.
Tom Bischof had an initial shot blocked, and Karl subsequently intercepted Robin Le Normand before the Spaniard could clear the danger, then applied a sublime finish past Oblak from an acute angle.
With that strike, he became the fourth-youngest player to reach five UCL goals after Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Raul at the age of 18 years and 245 days old.
Upamecano went within inches of doubling Bayern’s lead when his deflected shot hit the crossbar, but it was Laimer who eventually gave the Bavarians extra breathing space with a little over a quarter-hour remaining.
Kane picked out the Austrian with a lovely ball out to the right, and the full-back took a touch before unleashing an unstoppable drive past Oblak.
Upamecano thought he had added a third for Atleti with a header at the far post, but the hosts’ blushes were spared when the Frenchman was penalised for a foul on Pubill.
Ultimately, Der Rekordmeister settled for two goals on the night in what was their first-ever away victory against Atletico. This result extends their unbeaten start to the season to 15 games across all competitions, while Diego Simeone’s side have now won only one of their opening four UCL matches this season, continuing their unconvincing continental term so far.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich)