Morata makes mark but early blitz leads Bayern to victory
Chelsea pay for poor defending as two-goal Muller stars in Singapore
Big-money signing Alvaro Morata grabbed an assist on his debut for Premier League champions Chelsea yesterday but was upstaged by two-goal Thomas Muller as Bayern Munich won 3-2 in Singapore.
The Spain international striker, who signed last week for Chelsea from Real Madrid in a deal reported to be worth up to £70 million (Dh335.6m), climbed off the bench with about 30 minutes remaining of the International Champions Cup match.
Morata made his mark soon after, flicking on a corner for Michy Batshuayi to finish and ensure a tight finish to a pre-season friendly that saw both sides close to full strength.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, whose side defended poorly in falling behind 3-0, praised Morata’s “great will to fight” but said it was too early to judge his performance.
“He is a good buy, but it’s right to give him the right time to adapt to our method, our idea of football,” Conte said.
It was Germany international Muller, whose future at Bayern has been rumoured to be in doubt after the loan signing of James Rodriguez, who was the outstanding player on the night.
However, Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted Muller is going nowhere.
“Thomas is very important because he is an intelligent player and is able to find space, to be ready,” Ancelotti said.
“He was good also last year. He didn’t score a lot of goals but his position on the pitch was always good. In this moment, he is more efficient close to the goal and this is important.”
Playing in front of a crowd of over 48,000, it took Bundesliga champions Bayern just six minutes to score, with Brazilian defender Rafinha rattling a 25-yard drive past Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Bayern struck again six minutes later when winger Franck Ribery picked out the unmarked Muller with a deft chipped cross, and the forward volleyed home in acrobatic fashion.
With Chelsea struggling to find their rhythm and all at sea at the back, a moment of brilliance from Muller saw the Germans extend their lead as he curled a shot past Courtois after surging through the centre for 3-0.
Chelsea’s response came in first-half stoppage time as a Victor Moses cross found Marcos Alonso and the defender drilled past Bayern goalkeeper Tom Starke.
Chelsea emerged from the half time break galvanised and enjoyed much of the better attacking opportunities in the second period.
Brazilian defender David Luiz went close only to be denied by the post, while Bayern continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack as Chelsea poured men forward in search of a second goal.
Despite Michy Batshuayi’s late effort, the Premier League champions could not find the equaliser required to force a penalty shootout.
“The first 30 minutes, we couldn’t get near the ball,” Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta told Chelsea TV after the match. “We know the quality of teams like Bayern and they were really effective in front of goal.
“After that, the direction of the team was very good. We made a huge effort. We nearly came back but we were playing against a tough opponent.”
Next up for both Chelsea and Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup is Inter Milan.
Bayern will take on the Italian side tomorrow before Chelsea face them on Saturday.
It was Germany international Muller, whose future at Bayern has been rumoured to be in doubt, who was the outstancing player on the night