Bayern holds off Villa to finish Asia tour on high
Bayern Munich beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the final friendly of both sides' tours of Asia, despite a late fightback from the Premier League side at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Stadium.
Min-Jae Kim scored first for Bayern with a glancing header from a free-kick not long before the end of a first half which didn't offer too much in the way of goalmouth action.
Luis Diaz doubled Bayern's lead in the 73rd minute after a period of sustained pressure from the Bundesliga champion, and it seemed it would be a cruise until the 83rd minute when Joao Gomes found a way past Manuel Neuer with a superb trivela strike from distance that curled past the diving goalkeeper's left hand.
Almost immediately from the restart, Villa surged forward again, but this time Neuer saved superbly with his right hand to deny Tammy Abraham an equaliser at close range, and Bayern held out for the win.
The win was Bayern's third in a row across its pre-season, with Joshua Kimmich's absence through an injury at the 2026 FIFA World CUp with Germany one of the few sour spots as it heads towards the commencement of Bundesliga season on 29 August (AEST), when it will host Stuttgart in Munich.
Villa, meanwhile, lost for the third time in six friendly outings, and a clash against UEFA Champions League holder Paris Saint-Germain comes next for the UEFA Europa League champion when they play for the UEFA Super Cup on 13 August (AEST) in Salzburg.
