Top five opening-day Bundesliga games
All has been revealed! The fixtures for the 2018/19 season have been released and we now know who, when and where every Bundesliga fixture will take place - and it all starts on Friday, 24 August.
2017: Bayern Munich 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen
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It will be the 17th time the reigning champions kick off their title defence with a stand-alone, showpiece match, and if their recent history is anything to go by, last season's table-toppers Bayern Munich will serve up a Matchday 1 stunner when they face Hoffenheim to start 2018/19.
Opening day fixtures are always exciting events, but how have the best been played out in the past?
bundesliga.com tells the story of the best opening-day fixtures...
It was a night for the new boys as Bayern began their title defence in sizzling fashion. The Red ballet were two up inside 20 minutes through goals from summer recruits Niklas Süle and Corentin Tolisso. History was made as VAR was later used for the first time in the Bundesliga, match referee Tobias Stieler consulting with the team of officials in Cologne to reverse a penalty decision, with Robert Lewandowski sweeping in the resultant spot-kick. Admir Mehmedi pulled one back for Leverkusen, but the damage had long been done and the marker laid for a sixth successive title triumph.
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2016: Bayern 6–0 Werder Bremen
2015: Bayern 5–0 Hamburg
Werder Bremen fans look away now! A night of utter despair for the Green-Whites, one of sheer delight for Bayern who gave new coach Carlo Ancelotti a winning start with the biggest-ever opening game triumph. Xabi Alonso's breathtaking opener set the bar high for 2016/17, Robert Lewandowski did likewise in the Torjägerkanone race with a hat-trick while Philipp Lahm's last Bundesliga goal was more than a mere footnote.
Despite their regional rivalry, Hamburg fans must have had some sympathy for their Bremen counterparts having been on the receiving end of a commanding Bayern performance 12 months earlier. Once Medhi Benatia had gotten Bayern moving in the first half, Thomas Müller and a Lewandowski brace swiftly took the game away from the visitors as Pep Guardiola's men produced an imperious display. On his Bundesliga debut, Douglas Costa killed off the Bundesliga's only ever-present club with a fifth as Bayern laid down an early marker for their title rivals.
2010: Bayern 2–1 Wolfsburg
Opening-day games at a glance*
2017: Bayern Munich 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen
2016: Bayern Munich 6–0 Werder Bremen
2015: Bayern Munich 5–0 Hamburg
2014: Bayern Munich 2–1 Wolfsburg
2013: Bayern Munich 3–1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
2012: Borussia Dortmund 2–1 Werder Bremen
2011: Borussia Dortmund 3–1 Hamburg
2010: Bayern Munich 2–1 Wolfsburg
2009: Wolfsburg 2–0 VfB Stuttgart
2008: Bayern Munich 2–2 Hamburg
2007: VfB Stuttgart 2–2 Schalke
2006: Bayern Munich 2–0 Borussia Dortmund
2005: Bayern Munich 3–0 Borussia Mönchengladbach
2004: Werder Bremen 1–0 Schalke
2003: Bayern Munich 3–1 Eintracht Frankfurt
2002: Borussia Dortmund 2–2 Hertha Berlin
*since the defending champions have started the new season with a Friday night fixture.
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