CINCINNATI:Bayern Munich showed no mercy to amateurs Auckland City at the Club World Cup on Sunday, beating the minnows from New Zealand 10-0 in their opening game as Jamal Musiala came off the bench to score a secondhalf hat-trick.

Kingsley Coman, Michael Olise and Thomas Muller all netted twice, while Sacha Boey was also on target for the German champions in the game in Group `C`, which also features Boca Juniors and Benfica.

Harry Kane started but didn`t find the target before being replaced just after the hour mark by Musiala,who netted his three goals in the space of 18 minutes towards the end.

It was a stroll in the park in the midday sun in Cincinnati for Vincent Kompany`s side, with France winger Coman scoring twice in the opening 21 minutes either side of goals by compatriots Boey and Olise.

Muller got the fifth and Olise`s second of the afternoon made it 6-0 in first-half stoppage time for the Bundesliga heavyweights.

Auckland City managed to stem the tide for much of the second half before Musiala came on and took centre stage, his three goals including one from the penalty spot.

Muller made it 10-0 in the 89th minute for a Bayern side who won the Club World Cup twice in its former seven-team guise, in 2013 and 2020.

They have recorded bigger victories in the past in the German Cup,but the 10-goal winning margin equals their best ever win in the Bundesliga, when they beat Borussia Dortmund 11-1 in 1971.

Bayern, who gave new signing Jonathan Tah a debut in central defence following his recent arrival from Bayer Leverkusen, play Boca in their next match in Miami on Friday.

Auckland City take on Benfica earlier the same day in Orlando.

MESSI FALLS JUST SHORT In the tournament`s curtain-raiser on Saturday, Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami sidewere held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly.

Messi was denied a storybook stoppage-time winner when he saw his curling shot from 20 yards out tipped on to the bar by Mohamed El Shenawy Fans showed up en masse for the Group `A` clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar.

Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, will take on Palmeiras in New York, where more of their fans are expected to turn up.

In Miami, 60,927 fans almost filled the 65,000-capacity stadium for Inter Miami`s clash with Al-Ahlydismissing, at least on the night, concerns about the attractiveness of the tournament featuring 32 teams for the first time, a year before the World Cup in the US.

Inter Miami, whose home attendances average 20,663 in their 21,550seat Chase Stadium, have been a major road draw in 2025, regularly attracting record crowds across the country since Messi`s arrival in 2023.

Al-Ahly, backed by dozens of thousands of fans, got off to a strong start but wasted two early chances and Oscar Ustari parried away Trezeguet`s poorly taken penalty kick after Zizo was fouled in the box by Telasco Segovia.

Messi threatened at times after spending some time on the ground after being hit on the knee, but Miami could feel lucky not to be behind at halftime.

Miami, however, stepped up a gear after the break, and Messi came close when his nicely curled 25-metre free kick kissed the post and hit the side netting.

With six minutes left, the World Cup winner scooped a perfect cross for Fafa Picault, whose header was tipped over the bar by Mohamed Elshenawy who later denied Messi in the dying minutes.

Miami face Porto in Atlanta on Thursday before returning home to face Brazil`s Palmeiras on Monday and while those should be tougher tests, their Argentina coach Javier Mascherano was upbeat.

`The truth is we leave with the feeling that we could have won it in the second half. Going forward we have to do what we did in the second half, not have any fear, shed whatever baggage we had because when we play like that, we can play even with any team,` he said.

Al Ahly`s Spanish coach Jose Riveiro, who only took charge of the team for this tournament, said his team should have finished the game off in the first half.

`It`s a game of mistakes. We had a decent amount of chances in the first half to put the game in a different space,` he said before praising the team`s fans.

`It was like we were playing in Cairo and that was a surprise for me in my first official match with Al Ahly. To be here in the States and have it like you were playing at home is something that can probably only happen in this club,` he said.-Agencies