Berlin, Jan 13 (IANS): Runner-up Bayern Munich started 2024 with a victory after Jamal Musiala's brace helped the team move 3-0 past 10-men Hoffenheim at the curtain raiser of Bundesliga's 17th round matches.
The Bavarians controlled possession from the starting whistle but lacked in accuracy in the final third against defensively minded Hoffenheim in the opening stages, reports Xinhua.
Bayern had to wait until the 18th minute to break the deadlock with their first clearcut opportunity as Leroy Sane found Musiala, who drilled the ball from tight angle into the far post corner.
Hoffenheim lurked for counterattacks but Anton Stach pulled wide from central position at the half-hour mark.
The hosts posed more danger in front of the target as Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann denied Raphael Guerreiro a goal following a one-on-one seven minutes later.
Baumann remained busy until the closing stages as Joshua Kimmich unleashed a promising header.
After the restart, the Bavarians started where they left off and they thought they had doubled the lead, but Harry Kane's goal was ruled offside in the 55th minute.
Bayern continued on the front foot but remained wasteful as Musiala rattled the woodwork before Thomas Muller failed to make the most of the rebound from very close range.
Hoffenheim remained dangerous on counters though as Maximilian Beier couldn't beat Bayer keeper Manuel Neuer by header at the hour mark.
The TSG sparked to life as the match progressed as Andrej Kramaric tested Neuer in a one-on-one before unmarked Beier hit the crossbar in quick succession.
The German giants destroyed all hopes of a comeback in the 70th minute when Sane traded passes with Musiala, who tapped home his brace from close range to make it two.
Four minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Hoffenheim as Grischa Promel was sent off for his second bookable offence.
Bayern showed no mercy and benefitted on their numerical advantage after Kane marked his 22nd goal of the season to round off the 3-0 victory over Hoffenheim.
"It's always good if you win 3-0 but, still we didn't play perfect over 90 minutes. We still lack in easiness and we saw that as Manuel Neuer had to be on guard several times in the second half," said Muller.
"I saw some good things but it wasn't our best performance. We had everything under control but we nearly gave away our lead in the second half. The result is great but we still have a lot of work ahead," said coach Thomas Tuchel.