Big-money signing Alvaro Morata made his debut for Premier League champions Chelsea on Tuesday but was upstaged by two-goal Thomas Mueller as Bayern Munich won 3-2 in Singapore.
The Spanish international striker signed for Chelsea from Real Madrid in a deal reported to be worth up to €80 million ($92 million) last week, and climbed off the bench with about 30 minutes remaining of the match.
But German international Mueller, whose future has been rumored to be in doubt after Bayern’s loan signing of James Rodriguez, was the outstanding player in a competitive pre-season friendly.
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, who should have done better.
Both sides were close to full strength and Bayern struck again six minutes later.
This time the on-form winger Franck Ribery picked out the unmarked Mueller 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 Mueller saw the Germans extend their lead, as he curled a shot past Courtois after surging through the center 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.
After the break both sides struggled to dominate the game with Chelsea substitute David Luiz firing a deflected shot that rebounded off the post in the 72nd minute.
Morata made his mark on the game 13 minutes later, flicking on a corner for Michy Batshuayi to finish.
The game was part of the International Champions Cup, which brings together top-tier teams from Europe.
Meanwhile, Kenedy has been sent home from Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Asia as punishment for his offensive social media posts about China, according to reports on Tuesday.
Brazilian defender Kenedy was axed from Chelsea’s high-profile tour as the Premier League champions fought to avoid further embarrassment after the social media slurs sparked a furious response in China.
The 21-year-old put two videos on Instagram, one with a caption which translated as “F**k you China” and another of a security guard asleep which was tagged: “Wake up China. You idiot.”
Kenedy posted the messages ahead of a friendly against Arsenal in Beijing on Saturday and was jeered by the crowd during Chelsea’s 3-0 win.
Chelsea had already issued an apology after admitting Kenedy’s actions had caused “great offense and hurt the feelings of the people of China.”
Kenedy, signed from Fluminense for £6 million ($7.8 million) in 2015, flew with Chelsea to Singapore over the weekend and trained with the team on Sunday and Monday.
But, with Kenedy accused by Chinese media of humiliating their country, reports claimed the Blues were forced to remove the player from their pre-season preparations as they look to salvage the club’s reputation and maintain their position in the lucrative Asian market.
Chinese fans had already blasted Kenedy’s racist jibes, leading to an apology from the player who quickly deleted the posts.
“I would like to apologize to the people of China for the offense I have caused. It was never my intention to insult or offend anyone at all and I now realize that my comments were totally inappropriate,” Kenedy wrote.
“I wish to state that I have tremendous respect and admiration for the Chinese people and their country.
“I would also like to apologize to my club Chelsea and all my companions who I have let down by my posts. I fully understand the responsibility of representing my club and it was never my intention to cause this embarrassment nor disrespect
source:Arab New