Bayern Munich 1-0 AC Milan
Bayern Munich have concluded their 2019 International Champions Cup campaign on a positive note as they edged out AC Milan 1-0 in Kansas City.
A Leon Goretzka goal deep into first-half stoppage time was enough to settle the match for the German champions, who won their last two ICC games after their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Facing Bayern was always going to be a tough start to the tournament for Milan and new manager Marco Giampaolo. Although, they would’ve fancied their chances had they known that Bayern wouldn’t play star forwards Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry, who had scored three of their four goals in the competition.
But thanks to the depth and quality of their squad, Bayern still got the job done against the Italians despite missing two of their top players.
Highlights of the game
Bayern started out the match brightly as Thomas Muller got on the end of a Joshua Kimmich cross on eight minutes. However, his tame header was easily saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Moments later, Bayern had a penalty shout as Kingsley Coman went down following a Davide Calabria challenge. But the referee was not interested and waved away Coman’s protests.
Meanwhile, it took Milan until the 23rd minute to produce their first big chance on goal, which fell to Daniel Maldini. The son of the Milan legend found space just outside the six-yard box, but the 17-year-old couldn’t get his shot on target.
Milan had another good chance just after the hour mark. Calabria got down the byline on the overlap and delivered a teasing cross across the face of the Bayern goal. Unfortunately, though, none of his Milan team-mates could get a crucial touch.
Renato Sanches then came close for Bayern with a well-hit strike from distance that went just wide, although it still sent Donnarumma diving to his right.
The end of the first half was marred by an injury to Milan defender Theo Hernandez, brother of new Bayern signing Lucas Hernandez. The French full-back suffered a painful ankle injury after a challenge from Niklas Sule and had to be stretchered off.
But with the final action of the half, Bayern caught the Italians off-guard. Leon Goretzka ghosted in behind the Milan defence and produced a fine finish to beat Donnarumma.
The start of the second half was also quite fiery as Coman took offence to a challenge from Hakan Calhanoglu. The French winger was ready to confront the Milan midfielder and had to be held back by team-mate Alphonso Davies.
After a quiet opening 20 minutes of the second half, Milan had a glorious chance to equalise through Patrick Cutrone on 65 minutes.
The Italian striker found himself one-on-one with Sven Ulreich, but he was unable to beat the Bayern keeper, who produced a fine save with his leg to deny Milan.
Bayern then had two goals called off within the final two minutes. First, Jann-Fiete Arp’s goal was waved off due to handball. Then on 90 minutes, full-back David Alaba’s well-taken goal didn’t count since he was quite clearly in an offside position.
Fortunately for Bayern, they did not need that extra goal as they held on for the narrow victory.
Key statistics
Bayern enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the match with 56 per cent of the ball compared to 44 per cent for Milan. However, both sides ended up with the identical number of shots: 11, with three on target.
That production was quite a step down for Bayern, who had produced 19 and 20 shots in their first two matches in the tournament.
Although, that drop-off was understandable considering the absence of both Lewandowski and Gnabry, who contributed a large portion of the team’s International Champions Cup 2019 highlights in their first two matches.
What’s next?
With their International Champions Cup commitments out of the way, Bayern will now head back home for the 2019 Audi Cup, which will be held at their Allianz Arena.
Niko Kovac’s side will square off against Turkish giants Fenerbahce in their first match, and if they win, will face the winner of the Real Madrid-Tottenham Hotspur matchup. Don’t forget to check out SBOBET for odds on that tournament, which is set to begin next week.
As for Milan, their International Champions Cup has only just begun. They still have two more games to play: against Benfica on Sunday in New England and against Manchester United next Saturday in Cardiff.
The International Champions Cup 2019 odds for the United match should be fairly close, with both clubs still a long way away from returning to their past glory.
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