Roy Makaay and Bastian Schweinsteiger gave Bayern Munich a 2-0 home win over Borussia Dortmund in the opening match of their Bundesliga title defence on Friday.
Striker Makaay got the first goal of the new league season in the 24th minute, sweeping the ball home from the edge of the area.
Schweinsteiger took a pass from Germany team mate Philipp Lahm to make it 2-0 in the 55th at a sold-out Allianz Arena.
Bayern, who won a second successive double last season, had plenty of other chances in a promising start to life without Germany captain Michael Ballack, who has moved to Chelsea.
Dortmund, who finished seventh last term, lost Germany midfielder Sebastian Kehl to a knee injury in the 19th minute following a harsh challenge by Hasan Salihamidzic.
"I'm very satisfied," said Bayern manager Uli Hoeness. "We were disciplined and we used our chances well."
Bayern coach Felix Magath left new signing Lukas Podolski out of the starting lineup but even without the Germany striker they looked dangerous from the first minute when Makaay turned on the right of the box and smacked his shot against a post.
The Dutch striker then forced a point-blank save from Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller after taking a sharp pass from Schweinsteiger.
Dortmund had their first chance after 15 minutes when Alexander Frei hooked the ball against the bar but Bayern resumed control and took the lead with Makaay's fine shot.
Bayern keeper Oliver Kahn celebrated his 500th Bundesliga appearance by making an excellent save from Nelson Valdez after half an hour and Dortmund continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack before Schweinsteiger put Bayern two goals clear.
Lahm, one of the outstanding players in Germany's run to third place at the World Cup, made a trademark burst forward on the left and cut the ball back for Schweinsteiger to fire a low shot past Weidenfeller.
Six more Bundesliga matches are scheduled for Saturday, with the final two games of the opening weekend set for Sunday.
© 2024 Rediff.com -