SINGAPORE – Big-money signing Alvaro Morata made his debut for Premier League champions Chelsea on Tuesday, but was upstaged by two-goal Thomas Müller 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 last week, and came off the bench with about 30 minutes remaining of the match.
But German international Müller, whose future has been rumoured 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 in-form winger Franck Ribery picked out the unmarked Müller 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 Müller 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.
Alvaro Morata goes on a run against Bayern on his Chelsea debut. Photo: Reuters
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.
“It was a really nice reaction by the side after the result against Milan, so we are very happy and everything is going good,” Muller said in a pitch-side interview.
The game was part of the International Champions Cup, which brings together top-tier teams from Europe.
Inter Milan are the other team involved in the tournament, and they will play Bayern on Thursday, before rounding out the competition against Chelsea on Saturday.