It was far from the strongest lineup Bayern Munich could have used, so it wasn’t that surprising to see the German champions lose to the MLS All-Stars after taking an early lead through Robert Lewandowski, only to see it waste away as Bradley Wright-Phillips and Landon Donovan took advantage of the weak defending.
Pep Guardiola wasn’t a happy man at the end of the match. Maybe it was the loss, but perhaps a couple of rough tackles from the MLS players, obviously taking it a bit more seriously than the Bayern players, that made him so angry. Guardiola left the pitch at the end without shaking hands with Caleb Porter, the opposition’s coach, although Guardiola later said that it wasn’t out of spite – he simply didn’t see the All-Star’s staff, which sounds like a textbook Jose Mourinho move.
Bayern Munich were the first to take the lead, scoring in the ninth minute. Robert Lewandowski doesn’t seem to be having any problems getting used to his new team or feeling awkward not wearing the Dortmund Yellow. He sent out a rocket from the edge of the box that was way too powerful for Nick Rimando to stop.
Bayern carried on looking like the better team but were quite exposed to counter attacks, pressing high and showing a very slow defense through all stages of the match, playing with a three-man back setup. Seven World Cup winners were waiting on the bench to play but they only came on in the final ten minutes to try and save the day.
The defensive slowness allowed the All-Stars to equalize, with a great pass from Bobby Boswell reached Wright-Phillips, providing the quality finish in the 50th minute. It was another long ball to Donovan, getting huge cheers from the crowd at the end of the match in New York, that opened up the Bayern defense in the 70th minute, allowing the All-Stars to claim a prestigious win over a Bayern side that didn’t seem all that interested in the final result.