Julian Nagelsmann saw the Bayern Munich he was looking for as the reigning champions crushed Freiburg 5-0 to leapfrog their visitors into second place in the Bundesliga.
Serge Gnabry, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Leroy Sane, Sadio Mane and Marcel Sabitzer scored in a rout at the Allianz Arena as Bayern kept up their remarkable home record against Freiburg.
Bayern have never lost at home against Sunday's opponents in the Bundesliga, with this success meaning they have taken 20 wins and three draws from their 23 clashes in Munich.
Results and performances in the Champions League have been good for Bayern, but in the Bundesliga they have been inconsistent. Now, perhaps, after last week's jolt of letting Borussia Dortmund pinch a point from 2-0 down, we might start to see coach Nagelsmann's men at their clinical best domestically on a regular basis.
Bayern began this game two points behind their visitors, just the third time they had ever gone into a Bundesliga game against Freiburg trailing them in the standings.
A strong start from Bayern resulted in them leading inside 13 minutes thanks to Gnabry's fine header after Mark Flekken's sharp save from Leroy Sane's close-range shot resulted in the ball looping up towards the penalty spot.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Choupo-Moting was not sufficiently closed down inside the penalty area by Matthias Ginter, with the striker drilling a low shot across Flekken and inside the left post.
Gnabry hit the left post before Sane struck in the 52nd minute to effectively kill the game, as a fierce 22-yard shot with his left foot sped past Flekken into the left corner.
With the pressure off, Mane got in on the act with a neat lob after Philipp Lienhart made an embarrassingly poor attempt to cut out Gnabry's floated pass from the right flank. Sabitzer added the fifth in the 80th minute, capitalising on more messing defending before sweeping home from 15 yards.
De Jong insists confidence will improve following Netherlands return
Frenkie de Jong believes his confidence will improve with more playing time after returning to the Netherlands starting line-up for the first time in over a year.
De Jong received widespread praise for his return to the national side in their 4-0 victory over Hungary as they confirmed a Nations League quarter-final spot on Saturday.
The midfielder returned for Barcelona in October after a six-month absence due to an ankle injury, while his last appearance for the Dutch national team came against the Republic of Ireland in September 2023.
He missed 18 matches for the Netherlands during that period, including their Euro 2024 campaign in which they reached the semi-finals before being knocked out by England.
Against Hungary, De Jong played 68 minutes and made more passes in the final third than anyone else on the pitch (31), while he also made 12 final third entries, the second-most behind team-mate Jan Paul van Hecke (17).
"I still need some time to really get into top form", said De Jong. "After an injury, I usually felt I would get back into form quickly, now after this injury that is really different.
"I need to gain back my confidence in doing certain things on the pitch. I knew it would be this way and so people are not worried. It should improve from now onwards.
"I'm happy to be back! I need games, I need rhythm, and then my good form will return. I will not start the next game, but I will stay with the national team."
Ronald Koeman was also delighted with the influence De Jong had on the side after such a long absence and is confident he can help the team going forward.
"You saw his qualities in a number of moments", said Koeman. "He helped us to create a lot more chances."
Van Dijk hails Hungary 'strength' for playing on after coach collapse
Virgil van Dijk saluted Hungary for playing on after assistant coach Adam Szalai appeared to suffer a fit during their Nations League clash.
Play was suspended for 13 minutes at the Johan Cruijff ArenA while Szalai was treated pitchside, with staff and substitutes forming a protective barrier around him.
The 36-year-old was taken to Amsterdam Hospital, where he later revealed he was "doing well" on his social media channels.
Although Hungary agreed to play on, the Netherlands ran out comfortable 4-0 winners to book their place in the Nations League quarter-finals.
Wout Weghorst and Cody Gakpo were on target from the penalty spot during the first half, while goals from Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners after the break saw the Oranje secure second place in Group A3.
And Van Dijk paid tribute to his side's opponents.
"That was quite a shock, of course," he told NOS. "You see someone lying down, you see someone shaking. That is quite scary. But thankfully, at a certain point, it became clear that he was stable. I hope he is doing well and that he recovers quickly.
"They had to decide whether they wanted to continue playing. I think it shows a lot of strength that they did carry on. I have a lot of respect for that."
On his side's performance, Van Dijk added: "The pitch was very fast, but that's no excuse. It was sloppy.
"In the end, we won deservedly and that's the most important thing. We go to the quarter-finals, we win, we keep a clean sheet."
Nagelsmann impressed after biggest win of Germany tenure
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was impressed by his team after they inflicted a heavy 7-0 defeat on Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League.
The thumping win in Freiburg secured top spot for the Germans in Group A3, with Nagelsmann's side now five points clear of second-placed Netherlands with one game to go.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst netted two each, while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on target in the victory that was Germany's biggest win since Nagelsmann took charge in September 2023.
The former Bayern Munich manager, who replaced Hansi Flick, failed to take hosts Germany past the quarter-finals in the summer's Euros, but his side now have a chance of securing their first silverware under the 37-year-old.
"We have no injuries from the game and our counter-pressing was extraordinarily good," Nagelsmann said after the game.
"And then to score seven goals against an opponent sitting so deep is something.
"We wanted to win possession and then quickly play the ball forward, be quick in transition and find those runs, something we did not do often enough at the Euros [in June]. We did it well," he said.
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