Star signing Mario Götze scored just three minutes after coming on for his debut in a red shirt, and went on to complete a brace as Bayern beat Hungarian champions Györi ETO 4-1 on Sunday in a benefit match organised by FCB partner Audi to celebrate 20 years of operations at local subsidiary Audi Hungaria. Proceeds from the match are earmarked for youth development and community projects in the region.
The 16,000 capacity crowd at ETO Park in Hungary’s sixth-largest city saw the unfamiliar FCB side apply most of the first half pressure but fall behind to a 40th-minute Leandro Martinez strike. Xherdan Shaqiri levelled it up after 58 minutes, before the crowd rose to acclaim Götze’s arrival as an FCB man on the hour. The gifted forward marked his debut with a goal some 180 seconds later, going on to produce some fine touches and the beginnings of a superb partnership with Franck Ribery, with Shaqiri and FCB’s newest Super Mario both competing braces before the end.
The friendly allowed FCB boss Guardiola to take a look at all the fit squad members who played only minor roles against Mönchengladbach two days ago, although much of the interest before kick-off centred on the Bayern bench, where the stars taking their seats included not only Götze, but also the brotherly combination of Bastian and Tobi Schweinsteiger.
The treble winners started with Tom Starke in goal, captain for the day Daniel van Buyten, Javi Martinez, Rafinha and Diego Contento in defence, Jan Kirchhoff in the holding role, Thiago and 19-year-old talent Christian Derflinger in central midfield, Shaqiri and Mitch Weiser out wide, and Thomas Müller, the sole survivor from Friday’s Bundesliga opener, as the lone striker.
Once the sides had settled, Weiser drew two early saves from the home side’s Slovakian keeper Lubos Kamenár and Shaqiri fired over the bar, but Starke had to be alert at the other end to deny Nemanja Andric, with Marek Strestik sliding the rebound just wide. The FCB backup keeper reacted well to beat out a Mihai Nicorec header midway through the half, before Shaqiri arrowed a drive inches wide of the far post, and Kamenár got down well to Rafinha’s low shot.
Behind at half-time
The Reds upped the tempo after the half-hour, but there was no way through for either Shaqiri or Derflinger. Against the run of play, the Hungarians took a 40th-minute lead with a fine solo effort by Argentine-born Italian Leandro Martinez, and although the busy Derflinger whistled a shot just over the bar, there were no further goals before half-time.
The sides felt each other out for a spell after the restart, Starke saving well from Andric, before FCB deservedly levelled on 58 minutes when Kamenar beat away a shot from young Derflinger, but Contento whipped the rebound back into the danger zone for Shaqiri to score a rare headed goal.
Super Mario's super start
Guardiola then made the change every FCB fan has been waiting for, introducing Götze for Weiser with half an hour left. The new face wasted no time getting into the thick of the action, seeing his first chance saved after 62 minutes, but going one better not 60 seconds later with his first goal for the club, prodding home at the second attempt from Müller’s neat through pass.
Franck Ribery now replaced Derflinger and Bayern camped out in the final third of the field, the Frenchman and Götze striking up an instant understanding and repeatedly pulling the home defence, unsettled by a raft of substitutions, this way and that. The treble winners scored their third after 71 minutes – and it was another Shaqiri header, again from a Contento assist. The lively Shaq saw a thunderous shot saved and then missed when it looked easier to score, before Götze set the seal on a memorable first appearance in the last minute, capitalising on some slack defending to score his second and his side’s fourth.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
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