History was not on the side of the visitors, who had conceded an eye-watering 50 goals across their previous eight visits to this ground. And not even three minutes had passed by the time they were breached here, as Serge Gnabry received it from Konrad Laimer, touched through the legs of Miro Muheim, and unleashed a rocket into the far corner from a tight angle.
Already fearing a rout, Hamburg cowered in the face of their opponents and allowed Aleksandar Pavlovic through to pass into the net after a one-two with Harry Kane.
William Mikelbrencis then missed a chance to get his side back into it at the other end, but Tobias Stieler’s decision to give a penalty for Aboubaka Soumahoro’s hand flinching towards the ball set Hamburg back further.
Needing to score today to reclaim his record of scoring against every Bundesliga side he’d faced for Bayern, Kane stepped up to dispatch into the bottom left from the spot. To make matters worse, Luis Diaz’s shot was deflected cruelly off Luka Vuskovic and past Daniel Heuer Fernandes, setting the HT scoreline to 4-0.
Wholesale changes at the break promised to settle things down for Hamburg, and they looked a much-improved side in the first moments of the second half.
They kept Bayern out for over 15 minutes, but then Kane returned to the scoresheet after receiving the ball from Michael Olise and making space to find the near corner. Kane was immediately replaced by 17-year-old Lennart Karl, who looked to equal the record for goals scored by a side in the first three Bundesliga matchdays, but his effort was tipped away well by Heuer Fernandes.
Although Robert Glatzel headed over with perhaps Hamburg’s best chance of the half, Merlin Polzin can take comfort from the fact that his side weren’t outplayed in the second half and avoided total embarrassment.
The result nevertheless takes Bayern’s total goals scored against Hamburg in the Bundesliga to 252 – their most against any side in the competition.
The visitors, meanwhile, follow up their disappointing home defeat to local rivals St Pauli with more disappointment, but their survival bid will likely hinge on matches other than this most difficult of Bundesliga away days.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)