By
The UEFA Champions League league phase last night delivered a pair of one-sided scorelines, as Bayern Munich defeated Pafos in Cyprus while Atletico Madrid destroyed Eintracht Frankfurt in Spain.
Both sides scored five, underlining their attacking strength in a competition where consistency and power often decide who goes furthest.
Bayern Run Riot in Cyprus
Bayern Munich maintained their flawless start to the season with a 5-1 win over Pafos at the Alphamega Stadium.
Harry Kane struck twice, Nicolas Jackson netted his first Bayern goal, and Michael Olise capped off a fine display as the German champions overwhelmed their Cypriot hosts.
Kane had already gone close with a stunning overhead kick that clipped the post before he opened the scoring, finishing coolly after Olise's clever through ball. Raphael Guerreiro doubled the advantage with a delicate chip over Neofytos Michail, before Jackson marked his first European start for Bayern with a composed strike into the bottom corner.
Pafos briefly fought back when Mislav Orsic capitalised on a mistake from Kim Min-jae and rifled a long-range effort past Manuel Neuer. But Kane restored Bayern's dominance just before half-time with a powerful run and finish, before Olise killed the game in the second half by turning in after Michail's save from Jackson.
Bayern, who are unbeaten in their last 16 Champions League matches when facing a team for the first time, could even have scored more, with Serge Gnabry and Jackson both striking the woodwork late on. Coach Vincent Kompany praised the balance of his side, saying: "We created chances from everywhere on the pitch. The important thing was how hungry the players were from the first minute."
For Pafos, the heavy defeat ended a four-game unbeaten run and brought them back down to earth after drawing away to Olympiacos with ten men on matchday one. Coach Juan Carlos Carcedo admitted: "The level of opposition tonight was a big step up. We need to learn quickly."
Griezmann and Simeone Shine as Atleti Crush Frankfurt
Atletico Madrid showed no mercy at the Metropolitano as they beat Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 to earn their first Champions League victory of the season.
Giacomo Raspadori inspired the attack, while Antoine Griezmann and Giuliano Simeone also made decisive contributions in front of a raucous home crowd.
The hosts set the tone early when Raspadori combined with Simeone before finishing smartly inside the box. Robin Le Normand doubled the lead from a corner, and just before half-time, Julian Alvarez burst down the wing and set up Griezmann for Atletico's third.
Frankfurt did pull one back after the restart, Jonathan Burkardt finishing neatly following a superb cross from Ansgar Knauff. But any hope of a comeback was extinguished when Simeone rose highest to head in Alvarez's corner for Atleti's fourth. Alvarez then added a late penalty after Aurele Amenda's handball.
The victory gave Atletico their tenth win in their last eleven home games in the competition, despite coach Diego Simeone watching from the stands due to suspension. "The players showed maturity and intensity," he said afterwards. "Even from up there, I could see they wanted to put things right after Liverpool."
For Frankfurt, who had won a wild 6-4 Bundesliga match against Borussia Monchengladbach at the weekend, the result exposed defensive weaknesses. Coach Dino Toppmoller admitted: "We cannot give away so many chances at this level. Atleti punished us every time."
The defeat also continued a remarkable trend for the Germans, their last ten matches in all competitions have now produced at least four goals.
