The pre-season tour for Bayern Munich has started in the best possible way as the German Champions clinched a 6-2 win over DC United. Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt have hit the ground running as both got on the scoresheet. Meanwhile, Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch also made their debut for Die Roten.
Julian Nagelsmann decided to go with a 4-2-2-2 system in the first game after the departure of Robert Lewandowski. Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane played up top in this system, while Lucas Copado and Leroy Sane started on the flanks.
Mane opened the scoring by converting from the spot in the fifth minute. The German Champions played some slick football to create chances early in the game. Mane often dropped deep to link up play while the wide forwards and Gnabry made the runs off him.
The scoreline was doubled instantly as Marcel Sabitzer unleashed a thunderous shot from outside the box. The Austrian received the ball at the edge of the box after some tidy play on the left flank by Gnabry. The German winger eventually got rewarded for his hardwork as he tripled the lead in the 44th minute. Mane provided the assist for Gnabry to hammer it home from close range.
#Bayern boss Nagelsmann on playing without Lewandowski: "As I mentioned, we wanted to do things different. He is a big forward. We want to have quick movements, drop into the red zones. Go deep that makes it harder to defend. Counter-movements will be important..."
— Manuel Veth (@ManuelVeth) July 21, 2022
In the post-match conference, Julian Nagelsmann admitted that counter-movements would be very crucial for Die Roten after the departure of Robert Lewandowski. From the first game, it is pretty evident that Bayern may become an even more difficult team to face due to the flexibility and movement of their forwards.
The second half started on the best possible note for half-time substitute and debutant Matthijs de Ligt. After joining the squad in the USA on Wednesday, de Ligt was thrown straight into the action. He volleyed home to score Die Roten’s fourth goal after an intelligent header from Thomas Muller following a corner. The Dutch international’s debut came to an end midway through the second half as he was knackered.
Joshua Zirkzee scored the fifth goal for Rekordmeister after a tidy bit of play from Kingsley Coman in the final third. DC United responded with two consolation goals, but Thomas Muller rounded off a great evening for Die Roten with a sixth goal before the final whistle. Ryan Gravenberch showed great vision to find Muller on the counter.
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Bayern still has to do better defensively, but some of the attacking linkup play was beautiful to watch in this game. There is still work to do in fine-tuning this system for Die Roten, but Nagelsmann should be pleased with the result and performance on Wednesday. The game against Manchester City later this week will be a good test for Nagelsmann and Bayern.