GreenBkk FCB | Bayern Munich v FC St. Pauli 3-0

Bayern Munich v FC St. Pauli 3-0

Persistence pays as FCB down ten-man Pauli

Bayern’s winning run at home in the Bundesliga now extends to five games after the champions dismissed strugglers St. Pauli 3-0 on Saturday, although the game was not settled until relatively late on following an eventful afternoon with a sending-off, a penalty and a clutch of shots off the woodwork.

The 69,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw Hamit Altintop blast the home side into a 16th-minute lead, but the first half was essentially an evenly-matched affair as the lively visitors gave as good as they got. Thomas Müller hit the outside of the post as Bayern looked to settle it after the break, and Philipp Lahm doubled the lead from the penalty spot with 20 minutes left, Pauli keeper Thomas Kessler receiving his marching orders for the foul leading to the award. Franck Ribery netted his first league goal of term on 79 minutes as the champions coasted to the finish.

A seventh league victory of the campaign sees Louis van Gaal’s side move up two places in the Bundesliga standings to fifth on 26 points from 16 matches. The final fixture before the mid-season break is next Sunday away to Stuttgart, before FCB round off an eventful 2010 on the same ground against the same opponents in the cup the following Wednesday.

Van Gaal made two changes to the side which eased past Basel in the midweek Champions League clash, one expected and one enforced. Jörg Butt returned in place of number two keeper Thomas Kraft, with Altintop in on the right of midfield, allowing Müller to deputise up front for flu victim Mario Gomez. Miro Klose returned from a long injury lay-off and took a seat on the bench.

Once referee Babak Rafati whistled proceedings underway on a bitterly cold afternoon in the Bavarian capital, Pauli midfielder Fin Bartels walloped the first chance of the match into the crowd as the visitors started brightly, but Bastian Schweinsteiger soon had FCB moving forward on the break, only for Toni Kroos’ centre to find no takers.

The champions were motoring now, and St. Pauli keeper Kessler was beaten for the first time on 16 minutes after Schweinsteiger teed up Altintop to smash home the opening goal from a good 20 yards. There was brief scare for Munich when Ribery hurt his shoulder as he hit the turf following a late tackle, but the Frenchman was able to continue and spanked a left-footed shot wide of the target midway through the half.

Schweinsteiger planted a free header over the bar but was then himself forced to seek treatment following a collision with Fabian Boll, the FCB midfielder rejoining the fray with a heavily bandaged thigh. The home side stood off their men for a spell now, and Marius Ebbers twice got his shots away, first volleying a Carsten Rothenbach cross over Butt’s bar, and then slightly shanking a swerver wide of the upright.

Munich rallied before the break, but Kessler clutched Ribery’s shot and then produced a superb diving save to tip a Kroos effort round the post, leaving the sides to turn round with the double winners narrowly ahead. Ribery lost his footing when shaping to shoot from a promising position as Bayern upped the tempo after the restart, but there was real danger at the other end as the men from Hamburg broke dangerously, Diego Contento blocking Ebbers’ shot on the line, and Matthias Lehmann prodding the loose ball wide.

However, Bayern’s attacks carried a great deal more urgency now, Müller unluckily striking the outside of the post with a curler from a sweet move involving Ribery and Kroos, and then seeing his close-range effort blocked by Kessler. Pauli boss Holger Stanislawski threw on veteran striker Gerald Asamoah in a go-for-broke switch half an hour from the end, but Ebbers steered another chance wide, and fate was to intervene before St Pauli could continue their efforts to salvage a point.

On 68 minutes, Schweinsteiger released Müller in front of goal, only for Kessler to clatter the striker with the ball already gone. It was a stonewall penalty, but Rafati also adjudged the foul as deliberate and showed the keeper a straight red card. Minutes rolled by as reserve keeper Mathias Hain ambled from the dugout to the goalmouth, but Lahm was unfazed and slotted home to double his side’s advantage.

Van Gaal’s men were cruising now, and Ribery made it three when he shook off the attentions of centre-back Ralph Gunesch, rounded Hain and slotted home from an angle. The substitute keeper did very well to deny Altintop and Müller as the visitors’ resistance faded, but Schweinsteiger directed a header from Altintop’s corner against the woodwork and the game ended with the score unchanged.

Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley

MATCH STATS

Bayern Munich - FC St. Pauli 3-0 (H-T: 1-0)

Bayern Munich Butt - Lahm, Tymoshchuk, Breno, Contento - Van Bommel, Kroos - Hamit Altintop, Schweinsteiger, Ribery - Müller

Substitutes: Kraft, Braafheid, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Ottl, Alaba, Klose

FC St. Pauli Kessler - Rothenbach, Morena, Gunesch, Volz (Bruns 46) – Boll (Asamoah 62), Lehmann - Bartels, Kruse (Hain 71), Oczipka - Ebbers

Substitutes: Lechner, Eger, Schultz, Hennings

Referee: Babak Rafati (Hanover)

Spectators 69,000 (capacity)

Goals: 1-0 Altintop (16), 2-0 Lahm (71, pen), 3-0 Ribery (79)

Yellow Cards: - / Volz

Red Cards: Kessler (serious foul play, 68)

Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)