Bayern beats 10-man Anderlecht 3-0 to start Champions League
MUNICH (AP) Five-time champion Bayern Munich opened its Champions League campaign with a flattering 3-0 win over 10-man Anderlecht on Tuesday.
Bayern was still smarting after its first defeat of the season - a 2-0 Bundesliga loss at Hoffenheim on Saturday - and had been looking to respond emphatically in the Group B game.
''It was not a top performance, but it was a performance that we needed at this period,'' said Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti, who looked anything but happy.
Instead it was Paris Saint-Germain that set the early pace with a 5-0 win at Celtic in the other Group B game.
Bayern had won 16 of its last 17 home games in the competition and any chance of an upset from Anderlecht seemed to vanish after 11 minutes, when last man Sven Kums was sent off for hauling down Robert Lewandowski. TV replays showed the contact was outside the penalty area, but the penalty was awarded and Lewandowski dusted himself off to convert it.
Bayern failed to make the most of its advantage, however. Opportunities were allowed to slip with wayward passes, epitomized by a loose ball from Corentin Tolisso for Franck Ribery, who would have been through and had already done well to instigate the move.
Then Adrien Trebel tested Manuel Neuer at the other end as the Belgian champions showed no sign of surrender. Another chance before the break had the stern-faced Ancelotti out of his dugout.
It got worse for Bayern after the interval when Alexandru Chipciu hit the post for Anderlecht, but that seemed to spur the home side and Joshua Kimmich crossed for Thiago Alcantara to settle the fans' nerves midway trough the second half.
Niklas Suele had another goal ruled out for an adjudged foul shortly afterward, but Kimmich scored in the final minute.
''You should be happy with 3-0 but, with all due respect, after the red card, you have to shoot them out of the stadium,'' Bayern winger Arjen Robben said. ''We played without any tempo, without any rhythm. You have to be up for it and shoot more goals.''
