"?Carlo Ancelotti's maiden Champions League bow at the helm of FC Bayern got underway in perfect circumstances at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night, as the German champions brandished a 5-0 thrashing upon newcomers to the competition in Russian side FC Rostov.
A 2-0 lead before half-time ensured that Ancelotti's men were on the right track to recording a comfortable victory in the second-half, the Bavarian's dominance of possession and chances in the game a clear reflection on the scoreline by the time Juan Bernat turned in Bayern's fifth and final goal of the night, to cap a comfortable if unsurprising performance by their high standards.
Proceedings to the Bayern goal rush began in fairly dubious fashion when FC Rostov captain Aleksandr Gatskan was adjudged to have hauled down Robert Lewandowski inside the penalty area during a corner, referee Anthony Taylor pointing straight to the spot and the Bayern hitman making no mistake by sending the keeper the wrong way for his eighth goal of the campaign so far.
Despite Bayern's clear control of proceedings, the home side did not look entirely convincing in making their chances count, the efforts on goal coming from distance with a number of speculative efforts failing to test the Rostov stopper Soslan Dzhanaev. The closest Bayern came to extending the lead was through new signing Mats Hummels when the German international powered a header on goal via a flick on from a corner, forcing Dzhanaev to palm the effort around the post.
The determination of Hummels to extend Bayern's lead came at a cost however, as his header on goal led to a whack to the jaw from Miha Mevlja, forcing the former Dortmund skipper off early in the second-half.
It took a pinpoint cross from David Alaba from the left flank and an expert sidefoot finish from the birthday boy Thomas Müller to finally double the Bavarian's advantage in first-half stoppage time, just when the Russian side were beginning to take solidarity in only restricting Bayern to the single goal going in at the break.
Die Roten were not made to wait quite as long for their third, as just eight minutes into the half a close range finish from rising star Joshua Kimmich put FC Rostov's defensive resilience to the sword by capping off a swift counter-attack from a Rostov corner, extending his recent goal scoring form to three in three games for both club and country.
With almost a carbon copy of Kimmich's goal moments earlier, Robert Lewandowski was given the chance of a second goal on the night from Douglas Costa's low cross but his outstretched boot fired the shot wildly over the bar and kept the scoreline at three, a poor miss by Lewandowski's standards but promising signs for Bayern as the chances and flowing attacks continued in a more consistent manner than in the first-half.
A fourth did arrive just seven minutes after the third, as Joshua Kimmich made it four goals in three games and had trebled his tally for Bayern in a matter of moments, powering a glancing header from Juan Bernat's delivery from the edge of the penalty area to further underline his growing importance to Bayern Munich and his increasing stature as a big name player for the future.
It almost seemed that Thomas Müller's goal before the interval gave Bayern that greater level of composure and precision in their passing in the second-half when developing attacking moves in the final third, something they had clearly lacked in the opening 45 minutes.
As every venture into the Rostov half brought promise of another Bayern goal, the likes of Arturo Vidal decided to test their luck and attempt to join Lewandowski, Müller and Kimmich on the scoresheet. The Chilean midfielder almost made the grade but for a powerful left-hand save from the Rostov keeper to keep out Vidal's long-range drive.
With the clock ticking down to confirm the inevitable, Juan Bernat had just enough time to make final amends to the scoreline and wrap up another dazzling performance for the Munich side as he carried the ball from inside his own-half and beat a number of men before meeting Franck Ribery's return inside the penalty area to steer a low strike into the left-hand corner.
A man not used to making headlines for Bayern and instead accustomed to playing a supporting role to his team-mates, the Spanish full-back more than made his mark after coming on by notching up a goal and an assist for his efforts in the second-half.
That puts the gloss on the score as another flowing move is swept in by Bernat to make it 5-0. #UCL
"?"?There was to be another appearance, albeit brief, of Renato Sanches displaying his qualities in a Bayern shirt for the remaining 20 minutes, following on from his first start for the club against Schalke on Friday night. It seems at this point that it is a case of bedding Sanches into the team for Carlo Ancelotti in contrast to making him an immediate first-team starter after his £30m move in the summer.
Benching a player as influential on the team as Sanches despite his tender age is a tough call for Ancelotti to make, but it may well prove a beneficial decision for the Portuguese midfielder in the long-run as he makes the transition of playing at a different club and adapting to a different country and culture to the one he established himself as a player in at Benfica.
Having a player as gifted as Sanches in the Bayern ranks and viewing the transfer fee and add-ons paid to Benfica for his services as an investment for the future, it is crucial that Bayern do their utmost to ensure that the Portuguese fits in to give the player the best chance of succeeding at the club in future, proving a wise move on Ancelotti's behalf should he see this vision through.