FC Bayern München put in a devastating display to earn at least a Champions League play-off spot with an 8-1 hammering of FC St. Pauli, whose relegation to the 2. Bundesliga is now confirmed.
Comfortably ahead by the break thanks to goals from Daniel van Buyten and Mario Gomez, the visiting Bavarians tore into their hosts in the second period as Gomez completed a hat-trick and wing wizards Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery each grabbed a brace. Marcel Eger's first goal of the season for St. Pauli between times was hardly worth the consolation as Bayern racked up their highest-ever away victory in the Bundesliga.
Individual errors
With kick-off delayed owing to an emotional standing ovation for departing St. Pauli boss Holger Stanislawski, the hosts appeared to take the atmosphere on board and surprisingly dominated possession during the opening exchanges. However, another individual error so symptomatic of their season left the Kiezkicker trailing with just ten minutes gone. Markus Thorandt was the culprit as he got into all kinds of trouble dealing with a Thomas Müller cross. Gomez took full advantage, bundling past Thomas Kessler for the opener.
Having slipped into the lead, Bayern remained poor value but did go close two minutes later when Bastian Schweinsteiger collected a Ribery pass in the box and struck inches wide, before Müller tested Kessler with another effort from the angle. Still the home side, buoyed by their resident support, matched the Rekordmeister in almost all departments without managnig to threaten themselves.
Thorandt luckless
And so it was all the more frustrating when the Bavarians doubled their lead with another scrappy goal just past the half-hour mark. Robben's inswinging corner was glanced goalwards by van Buyten, but the decisive touch came from the hapless Thorandt, who diverted beyond the flailing Kessler. St. Pauli did eventually ask questions of the Bayern defence when Dennis Daube went through on goal approaching the interval, but FCB keeper Hans-Jörg Butt was alert to the danger and denied well.
St. Pauli made two changes at the break in the hope of still turning the game and offered the Millerntor faithful a glimmer of hope when Florian Lechner whistled a fine right-foot from effort from distance off the bar, but sadly for Stanislawski and his side it was FCB who swiftly seized the second-half initiative. Gomez grabbed his second of the day to make it 3-0, sliding a brilliant ball infield from Robben under Kessler from the right of the box. Just two minutes later and it was four, Robben this time getting in on the act with a simple close-range finish from Müller's square ball.
Ribery rubs it in
Cruising, Bayern really began to enjoy themselves in the latter stages and knocked in their fifth with a quarter of an hour remaining, Ribery tucking in the rebound from a woeful miss by Gomez. Eger did head in Max Kruse's corner at the other end to give the home fans something to cheer, but their smiles soon returned to frowns as Robben headed home free in the box from a Ribery cross.
Still the misery wasn't quite over for what is now certain to be the Bundesliga's bottom club. Gomez did his chances of topping the scoring charts no harm by completing his hat-trick on 86 minutes, just about managing to slot in his 27th of the campaign following some unselfish play in the box by Robben. Ribery then made it an excruciating eight, smashing in from 25 yards to cap an exhibition-like afternoon for the Munich Reds. A miserable end for Stanislawski following an otherwise very happy 18 years at the helm. Bayern are meanwhile unassailable in third - with second place very much still in their sights.
Line-ups:
St. Pauli: Kessler - Lechner, Thorandt (Bruns 46'), Morena, Eger - Daube, Lehmann (Kalla 68') - Bartels, Takyi (Ebbers 46'), Kruse - Asamoah
Bayern: Butt - Lahm, van Buyten, Luiz Gustavo (Badstuber 43'), Contento - Tymoshchuk, Schweinsteiger (Kroos 69') - Robben, T. Müller (Klose 69'), Ribery - Gomez
Goals: 0-1 Gomez (10'), 0-2 van Buyten (32'), 0-3 Gomez (52'), 0-4 Robben (54'), 0-5 Ribery (75'), 1-5 Eger (79'), 1-6 Robben (84'), 1-7 Gomez (86'), 1-8 Ribery (88')
Andy James
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