Bayern Munich cruise to victory over Manchester United
Bayern Munich dominated from start to finish against English Premier League side Manchester United in their final pre-season fixture of the summer, recording a 1-0 victory at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.
Bayern Munich 1-0 Manchester United
Goals: 1-0 Martinez (59')
Several of Bayern's 2018 FIFA World Cup participants were back in the starting line-up for the first time here, with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Mats Hummels and Joshua Kimmich all beginning as new coach Niko Kovac set out a strong side in his first game on the Bayern touchline at the Allianz Arena. And although the hosts were in complete control of proceedings, they struggled to create any clear openings against a deep-lying visiting side, with half-chances for Thiago and Serge Gnabry the brightest moments of the first half.
The match continued in the same vein throughout the second period: Bayern were camped out in the visitors' half and probed for spaces in the final third, without ever breaking a sweat in defence. The deadlock was finally broken in the 59th minute when Javi Martinez glanced in Thiago's corner and from that moment on the outcome was never in doubt. Arjen Robben had the ball in the back of the net late on, only for it to be ruled out for offside, but ultimately it was of little consequence as the Bavarian's warmed up for next week's Supercup clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Line-ups
Bayern: Neuer (c)- Kimmich (Rudy 72'), Hummels (Boateng 46'), Süle, Alaba (Bernat 56') - Martinez, Thiago (Rafinha 60') - Robben, Müller (Lewandowski 46'), Ribery (Goretzka 46') - Gnabry (Coman 60')
Unused substitutes: Ulreich, Mai, Zylla, Frantzke, Hoffmann
Absentees: Tolisso (rested)
Coach: Niko Kovac
United: De Gea (Grant 78') – Darmian (Jones 65'), Lindelof (Tuanzebe 78'), Bailly (Smalling 51'), Shaw (Mitchell 78') – Andreas, Fred (Chong 79'), Herrera (Garner 82') – Rashford (Fosu-Mensah 65'), Sanchez (c), Mata (McTominay 65')
Substitutes: Greenwood
Absentees: Matic (unspecified), Valencia (calf), Dalot (knee)
Coach: Jose Mourinho
Match stats
- Bayern Munich (28) and Manchester United (20) boast 48 top-flight titles between them while a combined total of eight European Cups have been won by the respective sides, Bayern lifting five to United's three. The teams have met 11 times in European competition, with Bayern edging their opponents by four wins to two. There have been five draws during that time.Bayern enjoyed a 3-1 win when the teams last met in a competitive fixture at the Allianz Arena. Mario Mandzukic, Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben were all on target as the Bundesliga giants advanced to the 2014 UEFA Champions League semi-finals at United's expense. United have never won a competitive fixture in Bavaria but one of the English club's most famous victories came against Bayern in the 1999 Champions League final, the Red Devils beating their German counterparts 2-1 to lift the trophy in Barcelona.Spanish duo Thiago Alcantara and David de Gea won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship together in 2011 and 2013.Bayern face DFB Cup winners Eintracht Frankfurt in the Supercup final on 12 August and kick off their Bundesliga title defence against Hoffenheim 12 days later.
As it happened