After nine punishing days back in pre-season training, Bayern were narrowly unable to muster a victory in their first warm-up fixture of the new term. Germany's most successful club travelled to face Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg, whose season begins on Wednesday with a Champions League qualifier, but Friday evening's game ended goalless.
Louis van Gaal's first match in charge, officially a farewell occasion for former FCB and Salzburg midfielder Niko Kovac, drew a record 32,000 full house to the Red Bull Arena. Bayern controlled the game for the full 90 minutes on the unaccustomed and brand new artificial turf surface, but were unable to translate their dominance into goals. Van Gaal sent out two completely different teams for each half, handing all his men a 45-minute run-out.
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