2 Reasons Bayern Munich Turned a 0-0 First Half Into a 5-0 Win

Bayern Munich's 5-0 win over Bodø/Glimt looked like a demolition from the final whistle. For the first 45 minutes, though, it did not look like that at all.

The Norwegian side reached half-time level despite Bayern controlling almost everything that happened around their penalty area. Two things explain why that 0-0 became a 5-0 so quickly after the break, and neither of them is simply "Bayern had better players."

The first is how completely Bayern controlled the ball and the pace of the game. The second is what happened to Bodø/Glimt's goalkeeper at the interval, a moment that changed the match almost immediately after the restart.

Bodø/Glimt had already proved they belonged at this level. They reached the Champions League round of 16 last season, beating Atlético Madrid, Manchester City and Inter along the way, and arrived in Munich unbeaten in 18 matches across all competitions.

That record matters here. This was not a weak side making up the numbers. Bayern knew they were facing a team capable of making the game genuinely uncomfortable, and for a full half, that is exactly what happened.

1. Total control

Bayern's approach was the kind of football Vincent Kompany has been demanding all season. Dominate possession, move the ball from side to side until a gap appears, and keep enough players behind the ball that a counter-attack is never really on.

Joshua Kimmich and Aleksandar Pavlović sat in front of the back four and controlled the tempo throughout, which let Bayern's full-backs push forward without leaving space open behind them.

According to the match statistics, Bayern completed 714 passes to Bodø/Glimt's 359, with a passing accuracy of 93 percent against 81 percent. Bayern also had 26 shots to Bodø/Glimt's 3.

None of that produced a goal before half-time, though. Bodø/Glimt defended in a deep, compact block, which meant Bayern could circulate the ball around the outside without immediately finding a route through the middle.

Whenever Bayern tried to play centrally, the visitors had enough bodies close to Kane and Musiala to shut the space down. Kimmich hit the post from distance. Bayern kept knocking, and the door kept staying shut.

That takes us to the moment everything actually changed.

2. Bodø/Glimt lost their goalkeeper right when it mattered most

The breakthrough had less to do with a dramatic tactical change from Bayern and more to do with the goalkeeper Bodø/Glimt lost at half-time.

Nikita Haikin had been the difference for Bodø/Glimt throughout the first half. He denied Luis Díaz, Harry Kane and Jamal Musiala individually, and stopped a long-range Kimmich effort too. His saves were a major reason Bayern went into the break without a goal.

Then, after making a save right at the end of the first half, Haikin picked up a muscle injury, which meant he could not continue.

Bodø/Glimt had to send on their substitute goalkeeper, Julian Faye Lund, for the second half.

Just 77 seconds after the restart, Bayern had their breakthrough. Musiala fired home to make it 1-0. It was an immediate reward for the pressure Bayern had built throughout the first half, and a difficult start for a goalkeeper only just entering the match.

Musiala said after the match: "I'm very happy to have scored, happy to be back in the starting lineup in the Champions League. I'm getting my rhythm back. The team really supported me."

Harry Kane doubled the lead soon after, meeting an Olise free-kick with a header.

Then Alphonso Davies made it three, driving a shot in from the edge of the box. Olise wasn't finished either. He added two more goals of his own before the final whistle, the second one arriving in stoppage time.

Kane explained why the game went the way it did.

"We had to be patient tonight," he said. "I thought we were also better in the first half, their goalkeeper made some good saves. We stayed calm and kept knocking on the door. The early goal helped us."

Bodø/Glimt had one more problem late in the game. Defender Odin Bjørtuft was sent off for fouling Olise. Bayern were already 4-0 up by then, so the red card did not change how the match ended.

It simply gave Olise one more chance to add a fifth in stoppage time with the game already settled.

Put both reasons together, and the scoreline becomes much easier to understand. Bayern had already created enough pressure to make the 0-0 scoreline misleading, while Haikin's injury removed the goalkeeper who had made the difference in the first half.

Losing Haikin at that exact moment hurt Bodø/Glimt badly. He had stopped Bayern from scoring for 45 minutes. Then, just seventy-seven seconds after the second half started, his replacement let in a goal.