Strong start after short break: Bayern impress against Lyon

Bayern hadn’t had a lot of time to prepare for their friendly against Olympique Lyon. When the whistle blew for kick-off at the Allianz Arena, it wasn’t even 100 hours since the Munich men had been back together on the training pitch for the first time after the summer break. After a tiring previous season followed by the Club World Cup, Vincent Kompany’s team have had little time for recovery – and will also have little from now until the first competitive match in mid-August, the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup against VfB Stuttgart.

It therefore wasn’t to be taken for granted that the Bavarians would perform the way they did in the deserved 2-1 victory over the French side. Even though every pass understandably wasn’t 100 percent accurate, the hosts dominated for large spells of the match, produced some delightful combinations and showed enthusiasm – just as the head coach had called for ahead of kick-off. It’s been “an aytpical pre-season”, explained Kompany, but he and his players “are keen and want to make it work”.

Positive summary after first friendly

The assessment after the first win in pre-season was suitably positive. “It's always nice to win your first game,” commented Serge Gnabry. “It’s great to be back out on the pitch with the guys after the short break. We're looking forward to the upcoming games.” Christoph Freund was also pleased with the team’s performance level. “We're not starting from scratch,” acknowledged the sporting director, but “we've only trained properly twice, so all things considered it was good. There were some good scenes.”

The Reds’ good interplay was also impressive given that neither the 11 who started, nor the 11 players who finished the game had ever played together before. “Everything was a bit thrown together and very fresh, but nevertheless it was fun,” summarised Freund. Kompany wanted to give all his players minutes and changed his complete team at half-time, which lifted the crowd at the Allianz Arena after the goalless first half. Not because those who had featured up to that point had failed to impress, but because it meant a first appearance for new signing Luis Díaz following his transfer on Wednesday.

Díaz impresses on debut

Having only had one real chance in the first period through youngster Lennart Karl – whose volley in the 10th minute narrowly missed the target – the opportunities increased with the reinforcements. The Colombian may have been denied a debut goal in spite of some good opportunities, but Díaz had an impact on his new club’s attacking play from the off. Like when he won the penalty that his counterpart on the right wing, Michael Olise, converted for the opening goal. Olise also scored the hosts’ second goal after good work from Gnabry in the 62nd minute, meaning that Alejandro Gomes Rodríguez’s goal near the end for Lyon wasn’t enough to alter the outcome.

“He did a great job today,” praised Harry Kane. “We've only had a few training sessions together so far, but he looks hungry and eager. You can tell he's happy to be here.” Díaz himself regretted that he was unable to score a goal despite good chances. “I hope I can score in the next match, though. My aim is to help the team.”

New faces provide boost

With him, returnee Paul Wanner and pre-Club World Cup arrivals Tom Bischof and Jonathan Tah, Kompany has gained some reinforcements compared to the 2024/25 title-winning campaign. As well that, young talents like Karl, Cassino Kiala, Jonah Kusi-Asare and David Santos Santos, who all played over 45 minutes against Lyon, are waiting in the wings. “The young players fitted in very well, didn’t hold back and performed well,” added Freund. “It was important for them to show they can hold their own at this level and not hide away.”

So, the first pre-season friendly offers plenty of hope. “The team is hungry and ready,” declared Kane. “Our squad is strong, we saw that today – and you'll see that at the start of the season too. We've still got a few games before the start of the season to get into shape.” The next one comes already on Thursday evening with the Telekom Cup clash against Kane’s former club, Europa League winners Tottenham.

All the post-match reaction: