Two days before setting off for challenging games against top-quality sides AC Milan, Internazionale and Real Madrid on the Audi Summer Tour 2016 to the USA, FC Bayern made it three wins in three pre-season friendlies to date with a 3-0 victory away to sixth-tier SpVgg Landshut on Saturday in a rearranged fixture following the cancellation of the meeting previously planned for October 2015. Franck Ribery, David Alaba and Daniel Hägler scored the goals on a day dedicated to the memory of the victims of the previous day’s terror attack in Munich.
Carlo Ancelotti fielded a starting line-up heavy on young hopefuls but still featuring a bevy of senior pros including captain Philipp Lahm, Juan Bernat, David Alaba, Franck Ribery and backup keeper Tom Starke. Xavi Alonso, Rafinha and Thiago were rested, with Arjen Robben and Holger Badstuber absent with injury and the bulk of the club’s EURO 2016 stars still on vacation.
Minute's silence before kick-off
The players from both sides wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence prior to kick-off in memory of the victims of the previous day’s atrocity in the state capital. The 10,000 full house at the Hammerbachstadion in Lower Bavaria then saw the visitors dominate the play from the off and create the first good chance on 11 minutes when Matthias Stingl broke down the right and set up Ribery, only for the Frenchman to fluff the chance just three yards from goal.
Home keeper Johannes Huber pulled off a string of fine saves to deny a clutch of FCB men including Ribery, Julian Green, Hägler and Niklas Tarnat, but the men in red took an overdue lead after 34 minutes when Ribery calmly rounded the previously invincible Huber and slotted home. Alaba doubled the lead five minutes later with a thumping drive from Ribery’s lay-off to make the score 2-0 at half-time.
Daniel rewarded at the end
Lahm, Ribery, Martinez, Bernat and Green all remained in the dressing room at half-time, and once Alaba left the fray on the hour, Starke was the only senior pro left on the team. Landshut’s second-half keeper Michael Förster had much less to do than Huber before him as the young FCB team struggled to penetrate the Bavarian State League side’s increasingly packed defence, but the home keeper was powerless to prevent Hägler earning a deserved reward for a tireless individual performance with his side’s third from Tarnat’s quickly-taken free-kick after 79 minutes. Mario Crnicki walloped the ball into the net four minutes later but was narrowly flagged offside, before referee Thomas Berg whistled proceedings to a close.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
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