Bayern win opener 5-1 as Stuttgart's Vagnoman nets at both ends

Champions Bayern Munich began the Bundesliga season with a flattering 5-1 home win over VfB Stuttgart on Friday after Josha Vagnoman scored at both ends.

Dayot Upamecano headed home a corner for the hosts in the first half, but Stuttgart - fourth last term - were always in the game and defender Vagnoman struck early in the second period.

Clever play from Joshua Kimmich set up Michael Olise just three minutes later on 55 minutes and Vagnoman ended a wild segment of the game by sliding in an own goal almost immediately afterwards. Substitute Ismael Saibari played in Aleksandar Pavlović for the fourth and Luis Díaz grabbed a late fifth.

The overwhelming favourites for a third straight title were not at their fluent best of last season, but easily did enough in the Bavarian rain.

Double winners Bayern, who beat Stuttgart four times last term including in the German Cup final, extended their run of not losing their league opener since 2011.

"It was a typical Stuttgart game where it was quite tight for a while," Kimmich told broadcaster Sat1.

Stuttgart, with Fabian Bredlow in goal given an injury to new number one Dennis Seimen, kicked off their campaign last weekend with a 4-0 win at Hansa Rostock in the German Cup first round. But this was an altogether different challenge against one of Europe's top teams.

Evergreen Neuer

Bayern, who face VfL Osnabrück in the Cup on Wednesday having beaten Borussia Dortmund in the Super Cup last Saturday, again included new utility signing Nathaniel Brown in midfield. Keeper Manuel Neuer, 40, was starting his 21st Bundesliga season.

Neuer said: "We would have taken the result at the start. We tried to give everything and wanted to make a statement in our first home game. We deserved it with our performance."

Stuttgart, with Deniz Undav now as captain, hit the woodwork through Tiago Tomás in a good opening spell. New striker Dženan Pejčinović also made a nuisance of himself for the visitors.

Olise hit the outside of the post for Bayern with a free-kick soon after and the home faithful did not have to wait long for the breakthrough.

Kimmich had a bleeding cut on his ankle but still had the energy to send in a 21st-minute corner, which was glanced into the far corner by France defender Upamecano.

The impressive Bredlow then denied Díaz, when put clean through by Harry Kane, and Brown's shot.

Pinball in the box at the start of the second half fell for kindly for Stuttgart's Vagnoman, who calmly picked his spot.

The away side let their chance slip away though as a lack of concentration at the back allowed man-of-the-match Olise in. The own goal was then unlucky as Vagnoman slipped, while France talisman Olise thought he had made it 4-1 but for technology to spot a tight offside.

Pavlović did increase the lead eventually and Díaz added the gloss, again from a Saibari assist on the Morocco World Cup star's Bundesliga debut.

Stuttgart's Undav said: "We played well for some of it so it is the way we lost it that hurts. Bayern just don't stop playing, they have brutal quality."

The first weekend of the Bundesliga season continues on Saturday with last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund hosting SV Hamburg in the pick of the matches.