Young defender Josip Stanisic was the hero for Bayern Munich as he scored the Bavarian’s only goal in a 1-0 friendly win over a Kawasaki Frontale side currently mid-table in the J.League 1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday night.
Taking on 4-time league winners Kawasaki, who are currently 7th in the J1 table, Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel gave a starting debut to new South Korean defender Kim Min-jae, freshly signed from Italian champions Napoli.
Min-jae was solid on the back for a dominant Bayern side, however the Bavarians were unable to get past a tight Kawasaki backline consisting of Miki Yamane, Takuma Ominami, Kota Takai, Asahi Sasaki, and goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong.
Young striker Mathys Tel was Bayern’s biggest threat throughout the first half and he could’ve easily bagged himself a hat-trick had it not been for both his poor finishing and Kawasaki’s excellent defense. Captain Joshua Kimmich also came close for the German champions in the first 45.
The second half saw both sides bringing on the changes, with Bayern fielding Croatian international Stanisic, French defender Dayot Upamecano, striker Kingsley Coman, and midfielder Leon Goretzka, while Kawasaki replaced Jung with Naoto Kamifukumoto as well as bringing on the likes of Leandro Damiao and Daiya Tono.
However, it was Tel who managed to help carve out the breakthrough for Bayern in the 57th minute, working together with substitutes Ryan Gravenberch and Stanisic in slicing the Kawasaki defense open before allowing Stanisic to fire home past Kamifukumoto.
Bayern then proceeded to assert their dominance over Kawasaki, with Coman and another substitute in Arijon Ibrahimovic coming close to doubling the Bavarians’ lead, however no further goals were scored as Bayern clung onto their 1-0 win.
Thomas Tuchel’s charges will now travel to Singapore to continue their pre-season tour with a match against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool on August 2nd, while Kawasaki resume domestic duties with an Emperor’s Cup fourth round match against Kochi United on the same day.