Bayern Munich kicked off their 2026/27 Bundesliga season with a wild 5-1 victory against VfB Stuttgart, but let me tell you, that scoreline does *not* tell the whole story. This was a game of two halves, and for a long stretch, Bayern looked like they hadn’t even woken up. Seriously, it was that bad early on. Stuttgart, who grabbed a Champions League spot last season by finishing fourth, showed they’re still for real, making Bayern fight like crazy for this win.
First Half Flops: “Checked Out” and Outplayed
Bayern lined up with a squad that could totally become the norm this season: Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae holding down the back, Alphonso Davies and Konrad Laimer on the flanks, Joshua Kimmich and Aleksander Pavlović in the middle, and Luis Díaz, Michael Olise, Nathaniel Brown, and Harry Kane leading the attack. But honestly? It didn’t look like they gelled at all. Stuttgart came out aggressive from minute one. They were all fast passing, lightning-quick reflexes, and split-second decisions. Bayern wasn’t just weaker; they were getting straight-up outclassed by a visiting side that wanted it way more. Harry Kane was playing way too deep to make any real impact, and our attackers Díaz and Olise? They looked completely checked out in the first half. Like the game hadn’t even started! They just weren’t worried about losing possession or how fast Stuttgart was recycling it. It was actually a monstrous performance from Kim Min-Jae and Manuel Neuer that kept the clean sheet intact for the first 45 minutes. The only goal came from Dayot Upamecano off a Kimmich set-piece. Bayern was taking forever to get into the game and find that necessary seriousness. Not exactly the first impression you want, right? But the second half, oh man, that changed everything.
The 52nd Minute Spark That Ignited an Onslaught
You want to know how Bayern responded to Stuttgart? It was an absolute onslaught of pacy attack that came out of nowhere and totally flipped the game. Stuttgart actually equalized first at the 52nd minute when Josha Vagnoman scored a fantastic goal, capitalizing on a series of Bayern mistakes, including a bad pass from our own goalscorer, Upamecano. It was 1-1, and suddenly, everything changed. The same Bayern side that was slow and erratic? They were in perfect sync. Just three minutes later, a disorganized Stuttgart defense coughed up a chance, and Olise scored Bayern’s second goal. And then, another three minutes after that, a cross from Davies was accidentally converted by Vagnoman into an own goal! So in mere minutes following his own goal, Vagnoman had scored again, but for the wrong team, and Bayern was suddenly up 3-1.
What an unbelievable turnaround! Bayern went from looking lost and “checked out” to absolutely tearing Stuttgart apart in a matter of minutes. That’s the kind of intensity and fight you want to see, even if it took a Stuttgart equalizer and an accidental own goal to light the fire. This team can flip a switch and just take over, and that’s a huge takeaway from the first game of the season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply