Bayern Munich vs Manchester City
The champions of England and Europe are preparing to meet the champions of Germany in a glamorous Club Friendly.
Little over a month after Manchester City became the second club to win an historic treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League, they are in Tokyo to face the side they so comprehensively destroyed on their way to the ultimate achievement.
Barely back for pre-season, this will lack much of the pace and drive which their competitive meetings so embody.
Indeed, one suspects there will be many big names missing or certainly rotated, as players ease back to fitness after the (all too short) summer break.
Yet it will certainly provide an insight into what next season could offer and, who knows, perhaps be used as an opportunity to talk transfers.
Talking Points
The latest I heard was that City had made Benjamin Pavard their number one target if Kyle Walker joins the German champions.
Walker, who has one year on his current deal, is reportedly open to playing outside England for the first time.
The 33-year-old is admired by Bayern’s manager, Thomas Tuchel, and was not always a first-choice pick for Pep Guardiola last season.
Of course, Pavard is six years younger than Walker and a France international. He started 27 Bundesliga games and seven Champions League matches last season and was used slightly more at centre-back than right-back.
City are also in the hunt for another top Bundesliga performer in Josko Gvardiol as they look to become even more formidable, although the latest intel suggests the clubs are apart in their valuation of the Croatian international.
Whoever gets the nod in Japan, the only new faces I expect to feature are Mateo Kovacic, signed from Chelsea as a replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, and perhaps, Joao Cancelo who has returned to Eastlands after pending the second half of last season at Bayern.
The Bavarians will have more new faces after highly-rated South Korean defender Min-jae Kim joined Konrad Laimer and Raphael Guerreiro in Tuchel’s ranks.
One of Napoli’s star performers en route to the club winning their first Serie A title in 33 years, Kim made 35 league appearances in 2022/23, as well as a further nine during their run to the Champions League quarter-finals.
With a full pre-season of Tuchel school behind them, the 32-time Bundesliga champions are bound to be a completely different animal in the new campaign.
Just how the coach’s philosophy meshes with the old guard and new faces, in the face of fierce competition on all fronts, will be fascinating and we may see a few friendly highlights to showcase what is to come.
And just how can City possibly follow last erm’s amazing achievements.
Chances are they can’t but it may be fun seeing how it all pans out.
History
The history between these two sides is limited to eight clashes in the Champions League – six of them in the group stages.
In April, City delivered a statement performance to win the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final before a 1-1 draw in the second leg in Munich confirmed the gap.
That was their first ever draw with four City victories and three Bayern wins.
City’s first foray into the Champions League saw them paired with Bayern in the 2011/12 group stage, as Roberto Mancini looked to make a splash on the European stage.
Jupp Heynckes’ side brushed them off in their first meeting, with Mario Gomez scoring twice in a 2-0 home win to leave City’s knockout stage hopes in jeopardy.
Despite rallying in the final four games, including a 2-0 win in Manchester, it was not enough as they bowed out at the first hurdle in their first Champions League.
City were drawn in the same group as Bayern again in 2013/14 with Guardiola in charge of the Germans and guiding them to a 3-1 win on his first trip to Manchester before an impressive showing from Manuel Pellegrini’s team sealed a 3-2 fightback victory in the return fixture.
The familiarity stretched into the following 2014/15 campaign, as Sergio Aguero inspired City to a 3-2 home win to drag Pellegrini’s team over the line to another last 16 spot. Bayern had won 1-0 at home.
They have met in friendlies in the past, most recently last summer in America when Erling Haaland scored in his first appearance in a City shirt in a 1-0 win, a contest shortened to 40 minutes per half as a result of multiple lightning delays.
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