Franck Ribéry sparkles as Bayern Munich hit five past Viktoria Plzen

Posted Thursday, October 24, 2013 by theguardian.com

Franck Ribéry shone on his return from injury, scoring twice as Bayern Munich demolished Viktoria Plzen 5-0 in Group D of the Champions League.

Bayern Munich's Franck Ribéry celebrates after
scoring the opening goal in the Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen

Bayern, whose last encounter with Plzen was a 7-1 aggregate win back in 1971, set a frantic early pace with the visiting goalkeeper, Matus Kozacik, under fire from the outset before the European Footballer of the Year Ribéry, gave Bayern a deserved 25th-minute lead from the penalty spot, after Arjen Robben was brought down in the box.

David Alaba doubled the lead before half-time with a low drive and Ribéry got another with a superb chip on the hour, after shaking off two defenders in the box. Bastian Schweinsteiger added a goal three minutes later and Mario Götze completed the scoring from close range in stoppage time to end a nightmare evening for the Czech visitors.

"We played a good game and it felt good coming back," Ribery said, after missing last week's 4-1 Bundesliga win against Mainz with an ankle injury. "We enjoyed ourselves out there but there are tough games ahead so we need to win at Plzen in our next match."

The result lifted Bayern to top spot with nine points, three clear of Manchester City in second, who had earlier beaten CSKA Moscow 2-1. Plzen are bottom of Group D, having lost all three of their games.