Bayern rolls past Monchengladbach in Bundesliga opener

Munich, Germany – Bayern Munich opened its Bundesliga campaign in style by claiming a comfortable 3-1 defeat of Borussia Monchengladbach at the Allianz Arena on Friday.

It looked as if Bayern would rout the visitors after the European champions found themselves up two goals inside the opening 16 minutes.

Arjen Robben got Pep Guardiola's side off the mark in the 12th minute when he flicked home a cross from Franck Ribery, and Mario Mandzukic doubled the club's advantage four minutes later when he turned in a loose ball from inside the six-yard box.

An own goal from Dante in the 40th minute made for an nervy second half, but the Bavarians put the result beyond any doubt in the 69th minute.

Thomas Muller had a penalty kick saved in the 68th minute, but Bayern was awarded another attempt just a minute later. David Alaba made no mistake with the next spot kick, converting his penalty to seal the first of what is sure to be many wins for the defending Bundesliga champions.

Bayern's biggest threat toward retaining its title figures to be Borussia Dortmund, which takes on Augsburg on Saturday. Bayer Leverkusen will also look to close the gap on Bayern beginning with the club's opener against Freiburg at the BayArena on Saturday.

Rounding out Saturday's supplementary Bundesliga action, Hannover hosts Wolfsburg at the AWD Arena, Hertha Berlin returns to the top flight with a home match against Eintracht Frankfurt, Hoffenheim takes on Nurnberg at the Rhein-Neckar Arena and newly-promoted Braunschweig plays host to Werder Bremen.

Sunday's doubleheader will see Mainz host Stuttgart at the Coface Arena before Hamburg heads to the Veltins Arena to take on Schalke.