Thomas Müller's strike was enough to give Bayern Munich a deserved half-time lead against Wolfsburg, before Arjen Robben extended it further. Ivica Olic pulled one back with a fantastic effort. Junior Malanda missed the chance of all chances, before Sebastian Rode had a great goal wrongly chalked-off for offisde. However, Bayern held out for the win and started the 52nd Bundesliga season off with three points.

After a 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup last week, Pep Guardiola was keen to get things going in the Bundesliga again. A 1-4 victory over Preußen Münster in the DFB Pokal raised spirits, with David Alaba looking imperious in midfield. The team had seemingly shaken off the Dortmund defeat and were facing tough, albeit favourable, opponents to face. Wolfsburg were the visitors, a side that Bayern hadn't lost to since that 5-1 thrashing, when Grafite ran riot and helped the Wolves to a first ever Bundesliga title. With 21 goals in their last seven games against VfL and conceding just three, they'd have to do it without several first team regulars. As Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thiago Alcántara, Javi Martínez, Mitchell Weiser, Jerome Boateng and Franck Ribéry were all absent. Bayern made two changes to the side that beat Münster at the weekend; as Boateng and Xherdan Shaqiri dropped out, meaning Gianluca Gaudino and Arjen Robben started the game. Gaudino, 17, was starting his first Bundesliga game.

Wolfsburg, to put it lightly, do not enjoy facing Bayern. A single point is all they've had to show for their last twenty trips to Bavaria. However, with the new, exciting and Kevin de Bruyne inspired side. VfL hopes were high that they could have caught out a Bayern side who were still feeling the effects from from World Cup commitments. Yet, like last year's champions, Wolfsburg were missing several first-teamers injuries: Patrick Ochs, Christian Träsch, Felipe, Diego Benaglio and Ivan Perisic, mean that both sides will be missing crucial players. Maxi Arnold and Junior Malanda were taken out of the starting side, with Sebastian Jung making his competitive debut in green. Joshua Guilavogui was handed his first Bundesliga start, after a loan move from Atlético Madrid this summer.

The opening period was tight and tense, with no team wishing to give away a slopey or early goal. Sweeper 'keeper extraordinaire, Manuel Neuer, was called into action early on. Robin Knoche headed into the Bayern box, but the sizeable shot-stopper was alert and punched clear before Luiz Gustavo could pounce. The first effort on goal took twelve minutes, but Thomas Müller's volley was easy picking for Max Grün. The second choice goalkeeper was only starting because of Diego Benaglio's illness, but he made several important stops in quick succession. Arjen Robben's low drive was denied, before Robert Lewandowski was denied twice. The first was a scrambled save from the custodian, but the second involved fantastic agility to tip over the Pole's improvised volley.

Lewandowski was then denied by an offside flag, with the striker seemingly doing everything but scoring his first Bayern goal. A goal was coming, however, and with eight minutes until the break, Thomas Müller struck. Arjen Robben, whose fitness was in doubt before the game, danced past Luiz Gustavo before making a b-line for the by-line. The Dutchman fizzed in a cross and 'der Raumdeuter' was there to guide it in with his shin. Grün could only look the ball slip past his grasp, despite an accomplished performance from the Wolfsburg stand-in. The break-through had looked likely when Lewandowski became more influential, with the striker unlucky not to grab a goal himself. 

Dieter Hecking, keen to change things up, took off Aaron Hunt and brought on Maxi Arnold. However, the second half got off to the worst possible start. From kick-off, Arjen Robben drove straight at the defence. The Dutch pace-merchant wove his way through the weak Wolfsburg challenges, before pausing to fire a curling shot past Grün. Just as it looked like the 1-5 of last season could become a reality, Ivica Olic pulled a goal back. The ex-Bayern player collected Seb Jung's throw-in before spinning Holger Badstuber. Still with plenty of work to do, the Croat unleashed a 25-yard curler to beat Manuel Neuer. Not a terribly dissimilar goal to the winner against BVB last year, Neuer was helpless to Olic's wonderful strike, but there were questions of a handball in build-up.

That work was almost undone when Ricardo Rodriguez attempted to play offside. The Swiss full-back badly mistimed his step-up and that left Lewandowski the freedom of the Allianz Arena to run clear on goal. However, uncharacteristically, the hot-shot striker scuffed his attempt and Grün gleefully held onto the ball. Kevin de Bruyne, who'd been quiet, almost took advantage of Manuel Neuer's lapse in concentration. Juan Bernat was there to prevent the Belgian from drawing Wolfsburg level, with some great, last ditch defending.

The goal breathed new life in Wolfsburg, with the introduction of Daniel Caliguiri and Junior Malanda giving them fresh legs to try and force things even more. Both teams seemed susceptible on the counter, with Caliguiri and Robben having good chances to break away, but some resolute defending halted the charges in their tracks. It was the substitute Malanda who missed the most glorious of chances, as Bayern rode their luck at times. The Belgian enforcer met Arnold's delightful cross, with Neuer somehow turning it onto the bar. However, from the rebound and almost on the goal-line, he somehow managed to skew the ball wide. Lost for words doesn't begin to describe the reaction of Hecking and co. on the bench, as VfL passed up a huge opportunity.

Moments later, it was Bayern's turn to get unlucky. Substitute Sebastian Rode curled home a lovely 25 yard strike and was wheeled away in celebration, before the goal was ruled out for offside. The goal should have stood, as replays clearly showed that Thomas Müller was onside, even though he'd not touched the ball. Robben clipped the bar in the final minutes, with Müller finding the side netting with a cheeky effort, as FCB held out for the win. Not before Max Grün, who was fantastic through-out the game, made another great stop from Bernat.

Dieter Hecking, animated as ever, can take heart from his side's display. The second-half was especially impressive, as they gave Bayern as good as they got. Malanda's miss will give the defensive midfielder sleepless nights for a while, but the Wolfsburg team did themselves proud. Pep Guardiola will be happy to have played so well and got a win without many of his top players, albeit with a few heart-racing moments to boot. The win was a deserved one and they'll be keen to build on that with a tough trip to Schalke next Sunday.

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]