By Tom Morgan
Bayern Munich crushed part-timers Auckland City 10-0 as the controversial Fifa Club World Cup served up its worst ever mismatch in Cincinnati.
The biggest deficit in the competition’s history had appeared inevitable from kick-off in a match between the two teams with the largest gulf in squad value.
Auckland’s squad is made up of forklift drivers, a fizzy drinks salesman, real-estate agents and a warehouse manager. Predictably, the 4,957th side in the Opta world rankings were reduced to just one chance for the entire match against the rampant Bundesliga champions.
The victory comfortably surpassed the previous biggest victory at the Club World Cup – Al-Hilal’s 6-1 win over Al-Jazira in 2022. But the expansion to 32 teams means more less-accomplished nations are getting the chance to compete.
There was little for the TQL Stadium to get excited about as Vincent Kompany’s side sprayed the ball about at ease, with Jamal Musiala scoring a hat-trick and Thomas Muller getting two goals as his long farewell to the club continued.
There would be no goal for Harry Kane, however, after the floodgates opened on six minutes through Kingsley Coman’s sixth-minute header.
Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala signals his side’s 10th goal against Auckland City in the Club World Cup.Credit: AP
For Auckland, there will be little to take encouragement from ahead of the remainder of their group of death, in which they also face Benfica and Boca Juniors, with several of the New Zealand team’s players not able to travel to America because of their work requirements back home.
Auckland never got a foothold in the game in stifling temperatures, with Sacha Boey crashing home Coman’s knockdown on the half-volley to double Bayern’s advantage 12 minutes later.
Former Crystal Palace forward Michael Olise made it 3-0 before Coman sent a left-footed drive into the bottom corner for his second of the game.
Muller, playing his final tournament for Bayern before leaving the club later this summer, then guided Olise’s cross past Auckland goalkeeper Conor Tracey to score the German club’s fifth, before Olise sent a curling strike into the far corner to make it 6-0 at half-time.
Musiala eventually added a seventh in the second-half before scoring his second via the penalty spot and then completing his hat-trick in quick succession.
Bayern scored their 10th with two minutes remaining, Muller converting Serge Gnabry’s cross. Auckland City, whose home crowds range from a few hundred to a couple of thousand, qualified by beating Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United 2-0 to win the Oceania Champions League for the 13th time in 18 years in April.
