Mane, Salah and Sturridge strike as tough pre-season continues for Ancelotti

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Daniel Sturridge scored the goals as Liverpool beat Bayern Munich 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.

Published : Aug 02, 2017 09:14 IST

Bayern Munich's arduous pre-season continued as it suffered a 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Audi Cup on Tuesday.

First-half goals from Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah and a fine late strike from Daniel Sturridge were enough to give Jurgen Klopp's side a comfortable victory at a stormy Allianz Arena.

It would have been worse for the home side had Adam Lallana not been penalised for offside when Marko Grujic swept home a third midway through the second period.

Bayern lost three of its four International Champions Cup matches against Arsenal, AC Milan and Inter and it performed a little better back on home soil despite naming a strong starting line-up.

Carlo Ancelotti's side dominated possession but created little in attack as Liverpool made the most of three ruthless counter-attacking moves on the slick playing surface.

Liverpool will face Atletico Madrid in Wednesday's final, after Bayern attempts to restore some confidence before the DFL-Supercup clash with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday when it meets Napoli in the third-place play-off.

Bayern started brightly but gifted the visiting team the lead after just eight minutes. Corentin Tolisso lost possession on the halfway line to Roberto Firmino, allowing the Brazilian to dart towards the penalty area and play in Mane, whose shot from a tight angle eluded Sven Ulreich.

Ulreich fared better in keeping out a Salah effort from another lightning Liverpool counter-attack, and matters got worse for Bayern as Thiago was forced off with an abdominal problem before Ulreich saved well again from Alberto Moreno's free-kick.

With 11 minutes left of the half, Liverpool doubled its lead. Mane released Moreno into the area with a brilliant backheel, and when Ulreich could only parry his cross-cum-shot towards Salah, he had a simple task of heading the ball into the net.

Bayern continued to dominate the ball without offering much of a threat early in the second half, although James Rodriguez came close with a dipping drive from the edge of the area shortly before he, too, was substituted in apparent discomfort.

Substitute Daniel Sturridge dragged a shot narrowly beyond the right-hand post as Liverpool continued to exploit spaces on the break, and only the assistant referee's flag spared Bayern on the next attack, with Lallana judged to have been interfering with play as Grujic's shot went in off the post.

Robert Lewandowski threatened with a free-kick and Mats Hummels scuffed a shot just wide from a corner, but Bayern was punished for its pursuit of a lifeline when Sturridge raced the length of Bayern's half unchallenged before clipping a sublime finish over Ulreich and into the net – although it was a goal that appeared to injure the striker, who was taken off soon after.

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