Mané & de Ligt on target as Bayern beat D.C. United 6-2

FC Bayern won 6-2 in the Audi Football Summit at D.C. United in their first 2022/23 pre-season friendly on Wednesday evening local time. New signings Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt both scored debut goals, with Marcel Sabitzer, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Zirkzee and Thomas Müller also on the scoresheet.

The Munich men lined up in a 4-4-2 formation with a front two of Mané and youngster Lucas Copado. Noussair Mazraoui also made his debut at right-back, while de Ligt was included on the bench just hours after linking up with his new teammates. Jamal Musiala had to pull out of the squad with a muscle problem.

Bayern’s superiority clear

Julian Nagelsmann’s side took control from the start at Audi Field and opened the scoring after just five minutes. Copado was tripped as he dribbled through on goal and Mané’s subsequent penalty was too powerful for D.C. goalkeeper Jon Kempin to keep out. It was 2-0 seven minutes later when Sabitzer’s deflected shot beat Kempin following some slick build-up play outside the box.

There was then a lull in the action before the contest livened up again towards the end of the first half. The hosts had their best opportunity in the 34th minute, when Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano both made crucial blocks in the box before Moses Nyeman dragged his follow-up effort wide. At the other end, Mané’s shot one-on-one with Kempin was too tame. Bayern did manage to add a third goal shortly before the break, though, when Mané squared the ball to Gnabry, who fired in – again via a deflection. The Senegalese star had the ball in the net again in the final minute of first-half stoppage time, but it was disallowed for offside.

End-to-end second half

As expected, Nagelsmann completely changed his team for the second half, with the likes of de Ligt, Ryan Gravenberch, Kingsley Coman and Müller entering the fray. And the fresh legs had an instant impact with de Ligt volleying in his first goal just two minutes into the second half from Joshua Kimmich’s corner. Four minutes later, it was 5-0 when Müller’s cross to the far post was touched back by Coman for Zirkzee to tap in from close range.

D.C. United responded with a goal of their own in the 54th minute. De Ligt attempted to head the ball out of touch but instead it hit the post, and Skage Lehland bundled in the rebound. The chances kept coming, with Müller and Gravenberch both going close for Bayern and Sven Ulreich making an excellent save from a D.C. header. The intensity then dropped off again in the hot and humid conditions in Washington, before the sides shared a goal each in the closing stages. Theodore Ku-DiPietro grabbed a consolation goal for the plucky hosts after his first effort was saved by Ulreich, but Bayern had the final say, Müller racing through on the counter and finishing coolly to complete a 6-2 victory for the Bavarians.

FCB play the second of their two pre-season friendlies against Manchester City in Green Bay on Sunday 24 July at 1:00 CEST.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Joseph Rutter