Hoffenheim rout Bremen as Bayern set pace

Hoffenheim destroyed Werder Bremen 4-1 yesterday in a potent start to the Bundesliga season on the opening weekend while Bayern Munich proved they will again be the team to beat.

An injury-time goal by Bastian Schweinsteiger sealed Bayern’s 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on Friday night as the defending champions opened the season, but Hoffenheim’s three goals in six first-half minutes saw off Bremen yesterday.

“We were extremely bitter about conceding the early penalty and it could have led to gloomy thoughts,” said Hoffenheim coach Ralf Rangnick.

“The team was totally unfazed by the penalty and to lead 4-1 at half-time is just fantastic, in the second-half we went off the boil, but the game was won.”

Fresh from their 3-1 win over Sampdoria in the Champions League qualifier, Bremen were humbled as the home side blitzed their hosts in the first 45 minutes.

“We are obviously very disappointed. We played a bad game,” said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf.

“We started well with the early penalty, but we lost control of the game and we have to question how that happened.”

Bremen took the lead when captain Torsten Frings slotted home an early penalty after a Hoffenheim handball, but it was then all downhill for Werder.

Hoffenheim drew level when Senegal striker Demba Ba netted in the 20th minute, but things got surreal when Hoffenheim netted three goals in six minutes.

The rout started when teenager Peniel Mlapa slotted coolly past Bremen’s Germany goalkeeper Tim Wiese on 37 minutes.

Striker Vedad Ibisevic then made it 3-1 when Frings was robbed of possesion by Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo, sprinted downfield and put in a superb pass for his Bosnian team-mate to convert on 41 minutes.

Bremen’s misery was compounded just two minutes later when Sejad Salihovic curled in a free-kick which left the Werder goalkeeper stranded as it finished 4-1 at the break and stayed that way.

A late goal by ex-Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was enough to give Hamburg three points and seal a 2-1 win over Schalke 04.

The Dutch striker scored either side of half-time, including a late winner after Schalke’s Jefferson Farfan had equalised with a dream flick of the foot on 80 minutes.

Earlier, Bundesliga history was made in Cologne as Lebanon defender Youssef Mohamad earned the fastest ever red card when he was sent off just 92 seconds into the new season in the 3-1 defeat against newly-promoted Kaiserslautern.

After Austrian striker Erwin Hoffer got around the back of the Cologne defence, Mohamad was the last defender and when he brought down Hoffer, referee Doctor Felix Brych showed him a straight red card.