Champions Bayern Munich made a winning start in the Bundesliga on Friday, beating ambitious VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 with Dutchman Arjen Robben scoring one goal and setting up the other for World Cup winner Thomas Mueller.
The Bavarians, missing half a dozen players through injury, only briefly hit top form in the first half but it was enough to see them notch their first three points of the season.
With Germany coach Joachim Loew in the stands, Mueller flicked in a Robben cutback in the 37th minute after the winger spectacularly shook off two defenders. Robben then added a goal himself two minutes after the restart with Croatian Ivica Olic cutting the deficit in the 52nd for the visitors as the German league season got underway.
Guardiola stuck to his new-look three-man defence despite the absences and with defender Holger Badstuber making his league comeback after two cruciate ligament tears and an injury break of 20 months. "We did it well today despite not having played with such a team before," former Germany international Badstuber told reporters.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks