Klagenfurt, Austria: German champions Bayern Munich hit three second-half goals as they beat French titlists Paris Saint-Germain, 3-1, yesterday in the International Champions Cup here.
PSG were without their World Cup winners, but they did start Adrien Rabiot, who refused to serve as a reserve for the French squad. Bayern were without their legion of German internationals, despite the national team’s early exit in Russia.
PSG had the best of the first half and took the lead with a 31st minute goal by American Timothy Weah, the 18-year-old son of African legend George Weah.
Bayern dominated the second half and struck three times in 18 minutes. Spaniard Javier Martinez opened the scoring past Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian veteran who joined PSG this summer.
Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanchez and 17-year-old Dutch striker Joshua Zirkzee added the other two, after Buffon had gone off.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s start to his pre-season campaign ended in defeat as Borussia Dortmund captain Mario Gotze’s first half penalty was enough to see off the Premier League champions Manchester City 1-0 at Soldier Field in Chicago on Friday.
Guardiola was able to call on the likes of new signing Riyad Mahrez and German Leroy Sane but his otherwise highly inexperienced, young team were unable to get the better of a Dortmund side who have already played one game this summer and looked far sharper in the opening match of this year’s International Champions Cup tournament.
Gotze’s winner came in the 28th minute when American international Christian Pulisic was hauled down in the box allowing the midfielder who famously scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final to beat Claudio Bravo.
Mahrez showed flashes of his quality yet Guardiola will be disappointed about the lack of cutting edge on show.
With the bulk of his Premier League title-winning squad enjoying an extended break after their exertions at the World Cup, it was a vastly inexperienced side sent out by the Spaniard at Soldier Field.
Mahrez, the $75 million signing from Leicester, made his debut while the precocious young English midfielder Phil Foden also started.
There was a healthy crowd of 34,629 inside Soldier Field and although a young City side held their own early on, Dortmund created the better chances with Gotze pulling the strings together with Pulisic.