Bayern Munich have started the pre-season friendlies with a win against Olympique Lyonnais. Vincent Kompany’s men took on Paulo Fonsesca at the Allianz Arena and came out with a 2-1 victory. While the first half started off with a lot of tempo, it was the second half that saw all three goals scored. Without further ado, here are the match observations:
Lyon’s intensity
OL must have missed the memo that this game was a friendly fixture. Their players did not hold back in getting physical with the Bavarians. Three yellow cards on the side of OL and plenty of crunching tackles saw this game turn not so friendly. Joshua Kimmich was far from the ball when he got shoved in the face by Nemanja Matić. While the ref saw it fit to book the player, Matić’s actions seemed totally unnecessary.
Vincent Kompany injects young blood
No, not what you are thinking. Coach Kompany used a total of 22 players on the field today. Of that number, seven youngsters were given the opportunity on the pitch. Fair enough to say that the youngsters held their own and did a decent job. It would be a welcome change to see Kompany use the deserving talent in the season fixtures as well.
The Diaz Debut
The much awaited show in the Allianz Arena. Former Liverpool FC and now Bayern’s left winger, Luis Diaz made his debut today. The Colombian showed flashes of top quality in his very first 45 minutes as a Bayern player. His pace and trickery began to take effect very quickly. With two shots and one chance created, Diaz was on the edge of getting a goal several times but missed out.
Olise continues to shine
Michael Olise picked up right where he left off. The Frenchman continues to be the best of Bayern. He scored two goals on the night, sufficient to see Die Roten come out of the fixture as winners. His first, a penalty, was taken to perfection. The second came off a beautiful pass by Serge Gnabry that Olise buried into the bottom corner.
Return of Corentin Tolisso
Former Bayern midfielder Corentin “Coco” Tolisso was back in Munich today. A childhood fan of Bayern, Coco started the game captaining the opposition. A top player with a great attitude, he marshaled his men to be a menace in Bayern’s way. It’s good to see him rise up the ranks at Lyon.
