Joao Cancelo needed little time to make an impact for Bayern Munich as he helped his new team reach the quarter-finals of the German Cup with a 4-0 win at Mainz.
The Portugal full-back started on the right wing one day after joining on loan from Manchester City and set up Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to open the scoring in the 17th minute.
It was Bayern’s first win of 2023 after they restarted the Bundesliga with three draws, and the first time since 2020 the Bavarian powerhouse reached the German Cup last eight.
Cancelo made the most of some passive defending from Mainz as he lofted a cross to the far post for Choupo-Moting, then Thomas Muller set up Jamal Musiala to shoot in off the right post after half an hour.
It got worse for Mainz before the break when captain Silvan Widmer had to go off injured and Choupo-Moting set up Leroy Sane to score.
Mainz improved drastically for the second half, but Bayern withstood the pressure and Joshua Kimmich delivered a free-kick for Alphonso Davies to complete the scoring with a header in the 83rd minute.
Mainz coach Bo Svensson had been sent off just before Davies’ goal and defender Alexander Hack followed with his second yellow card in the 86th minute.
Also in the German Cup, defending champions RB Leipzig defeated Hoffenheim 3-1 to progress to the quarter-finals, while Union Berlin and Stuttgart booked their places on Tuesday. There are further third-round games next week.
