Bayern Munich held off a late fightback from Aston Villa to secure a 2-1 victory in Hong Kong, bringing the pre-season tours of Asia for both sides to a close.
It looked to be plain sailing for the Bundesliga champions after a first-half header from Kim Min-Jae and Luis Diaz’s goal off the bench gave them a comfortable two-goal lead with under 10 minutes to go at Kai Tak Stadium.
Joao Gomes’ poked effort from outside the area, which curved away from the outstretched arm of Manuel Neuer, then sparked Unai Emery’s side into life.
Two minutes later, Neuer was called into action again and did incredibly well to keep Tammy Abraham’s header out from point-blank range.
Villa continued to push for an equaliser, playing with a fluidity and confidence that the performance had lacked throughout, but ultimately fell short.
Bayern now make it three wins in a row across pre-season, while Villa suffered their third defeat in six friendlies ahead of facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup on August 12 in Salzburg.
Key moments in Hong Kong…
- 37: GOAL! Kim’s glancing header gives Bayern the lead
- 62: PENALTY APPEAL! Bayern call for a penalty after Cash bundles Ibrahimovic over
- 66: DOUBLE SAVE! Superb work from Bizot to keep the scoreline at 1-0
- 71: OFF THE LINE! Abraham clears Diaz’s shot off the line
- 83: GOAL! Joao Gomes pulls one back for Villa with poked effort
- 85: SO CLOSE! Neuer denies Abraham from point-blank range to keep Bayern ahead
Villa’s pre-season so far…
July 21: Walsall 0-5 Aston Villa – Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium
July 25: Porto 2-1 Aston Villa – Estadio Do Dragao
July 28: Aston Villa 2-4 Real Sociedad – Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium
August 1: Indonesia All-Stars 1-3 Aston Villa – Jakarta
August 4: BG Pathum United 1-3 Aston Villa – Pathum Thani
August 7: Aston Villa 2-1 Bayern Munich, Hong Kong
August 12: UEFA Super Cup – PSG vs Aston Villa, Salzburg, 8pm
August 15: Borussia Monchengladbach vs Aston Villa – Borussia-Park, 2.30pm
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