

MLS All-Stars v. Bayern Munich: Live Blog





MLS: (4-4-2) Rimando, Yedlin, Besler, Parkhurst, Collin, Bradley, Zusi, Cahill, Henry, Dempsey, Martins 

Subs: Hamid, Franklin, Ridgewell, Boswell, Alonso, Donovan, Valeri, Edu, Dwyer, Torres, Johnson, Wright-Phillips

Bayern Munich: (3-5-2) Starke, Martinez, Rafinha, Alaba, Gaudino, Shaqiri, Bernat, Rode, Hojberg, Lewandowski, Pizarro

Subs: Neuer, Zingerle, Walter, Dante, Boateng, Lahm, Contento, Badstuber, Sallahi, Ribery, Robben, Scholl, Gotze, Oikonomou, Muller, B. Schweinsteiger, Green, T. Schweinsteiger, Eberwein

Overall great showing from the MLS All Stars.  I was more impressed by their second half squad- Wright Phillips was great, and Donovan’s brief appearance sealed the win.  Diego Valeri also had a great half on defense, and it was his beautiful long ball to Donovan that won them the game.  Bayern had the majority of possession, but it wasn’t to the extent that you’d have thought coming into the game.  When MLS did get the ball, I thought they were very smart with it, linking quick passes and getting into space.  This game obviously meant more for the MLS than it did for Bayern, but Bayern didn’t really create any clear chances even after bringing on Muller, Gotze, Lahm, and Schweinsteiger.  In the second half, the MLS definitely had the majority of the goal chances.

WEIRD scene after the final whistle as Pep Guardiola refuses to shake hands with MLS coach Caleb Porter.  He waves him off when Porter approaches, and continues to ignore Porter as he shakes hands with other players/officials.  It may have stemmed from the tackle on Schweinsteiger, who never returned to the field after getting hurt.

Full Time- MLS 2-1 Bayern

90′- Bayern win a free kick in a dangerous area at the top of the MLS box.  In what could be their last chance, Gotze fires the shot well over the bar.  No real threat for Bill Hamid.

89′- Schweinsteiger is down on the field and receives treatment.  He comes off to be looked at further. Both Guardiola and Starke, who is on the bench, appear to be having a HEATED discussion with one of the linesmen.

87′- Chance for MLS!- A good spell of passing finds Dom Dwyer in space on the right, and his shot after cutting inside goes just wide of the right post.

86′- Aaaaaand just as I write that Muller finds himself in space and wins a corner for Bayern.  Arjen Robben also comes on for Alaba.

85′- Bayern’s World Cup heroes haven’t made much noise since coming on, but there’s still time.

79′- And now things get interesting: Gotze, Muller, Lahm, and Schweinsteiger all enter the game at the same time.  Obviously they’re more than capable of getting Bayern back into this game. Gotze for Shaqiri, Schweinsteiger for Bernat, Muller for Rode, Lahm for Julian Green. Diego Contento also comes on to replace Lewandowski.

78′- CHANCE FOR BAYERN- A Bayern counterattack sees Shaqiri get the ball on the right wing.  His cross into the box finds a sprinting Juan Bernat, whose volley is fired at Hamid, who blocks the ball out for a corner.

76′- Shaqiri gets the ball at the top of the box and takes a dribble to his left, creating just enough space to get a shot off his favored left foot.  The shot goes right to Hamid, who saves comfortably.

74′- Taylor Twellman points out that MLS have switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Dom Dwyer up front alone with Wright-Phillips now playing slightly behind him in an advanced midfield role.

71′- Just seconds after scoring Donovan is subbed off to a standing ovation and a huge smile from coach Caleb Porter, and is replaced by Dom Dwyer. MLS have now used every one of their players.

70′- GOAL MLS 2-1: A Diego Valeri long over the defense is chested down by Donovan, who controls and fends off Rafinha and Dante before sliding a shot into the bottom left of the goal past Neuer.

65′- The ensuing free kick from Alaba is punched over the bar by Bill Hamid.  The ball was going over but was close enough that Hamid felt like he had to make sure it did.

64′- A hard challenge by Alonso on Shaqiri is penalized by a yellow card.  Free kick for Bayern about 25 yards from goal, dead center.

62′- Big names coming on for Germany, as Dante replaces Gaudino and Manuel Neuer comes on for Starke in goal.

60′- A spell of possession for Bayern ends in a Bernat cross into the box that doesn’t find anybody, and is easily controlled and cleared by the MLS defense

58′- Bradley Wright-Phillips speed definitely making an impact up front for the MLS.  He’s creating chances that weren’t there in the first half.

51′- GOAL FOR MLS! 1-1– A long ball forward is flicked on by Erick Torres into the path of Bradley Wright-Phillips, who takes a dribble and BLASTS a left-footed shot from just outside the box past Starke to the far post.  Excellent goal for the MLS’s current leading scorer

50′- Dom Dwyer is now the only MLS squad member who hasn’t seen the field as of yet

48′- Also, the MLS changed pretty much their entire team at the half, with Hamid, Franklin, Boswell, Edu, Ridgewell, Valeri, Alonso, Johnson, Torres, and Wright-Phillips coming on.

47′- Landon Donovan coming on for Henry, who receives a standing ovation in what might be his last All-Star game



For me, Lewandowski has been the standout player of the first half.  His goal was absurd, and Bayern’s two other best chances were a shot by him and an excellent pass from him to Shaqiri.  I’m interested to see if his role changes at all if players like Ribery or Robben enter the game and begin to play in the wide positions that Lewandowski has found space in during the first half.  Given his quality, I’m guessing it won’t matter.

It’s weird to see Thierry Henry playing in midfield, but he’s hit some great passes from that position so far.  If he’s given time on the ball, his touch is just as good as it ever was.

For all the talk of him contributing on offense, Deandre Yedlin has been really good defensively in the first half.  Almost all of Bayern’s chances have come from the opposite flank, where Michael Parkhurst is finding himself isolated against Lewandowski and Hojberg pretty regularly.  Bayern’s goal, as well as Shaqiri’s shot, came from this side of the field.


45′- HALFTIME: Bayern put a ton of pressure on the MLS over the last few minutes, and looked like they might grab another.  The MLS defense holds, and is able to remain a goal down going into the half.

43′- Chance for Julian Green as he gets on the end of a through ball but fires his shot right at Rimando

41′- Good spell of play for the MLS: Yedlin beats one defender before bulldozing another on the right edge of the box, no foul is called and he is able to cross into the box.  The cross is headed away right to Henry, who one-times a volley JUST over the bar for a goal kick

38′- CHANCE FOR BAYERN.  A Lewandowski pass into the box finds a charging Shaqiri, who flicks the ball toward the goal, but Rimando makes an excellent save to push the ball over the bar for a corner

37′- AND HERE WE GO.  Julian Green comes on for Pizarro.

36′- Guardiola is giving instructions to Julian Green on the sideline.  Only a matter of time until he makes an appearance.

32′- Besler is a bit lax with his defending and allows Hojberg to dribble into the box, where he fires a shot at the near post.  Rimando is up to the task and deflects it wide for a corner, which is headed over from Bayern for a goal kick.

Nick Rimando can only watch as Lewandowski’s shot is rifled past him for the opening goal




30′- An Henry pass over the top finds Clint Dempsey, who fires the ball one-time at Bayern’s Starke from an angle.  Good chance for MLS.

28′- MLS begin to link their passes with consistency, and have had the majority of the chances in the past 10 minutes

26′- Chance for MLS as Yedlin confidently takes on Juan Bernat and gets a cross off.  It goes JUST over the head of Tim Cahill, who is definitely the man you want on the end of a cross

22′- MLS’s main form of attack has come from through balls to Dempsey and Martins, who has had some success so far running out wide against Rafinha

17′- A Dempsey ball into the box finds Martins, who really should’ve done better.  He tries a Zlatan-esque karate kick but probably should’ve headed the ball.  It goes out for a goal kick.

16′- Semi chance for Bayern, Hojbery finds himself along the endline and his cross into the box finds Rode, whose diving header goes wide

14′- Bayern starting to retain possession like we expected.  MLS will have to look to hit on the counter.

8′- GOAL BAYERN 1-0: I didn’t even have a chance to finish typing the last update before Lewandowski gets another chance and takes advantage.  A Rafinha pass finds Lewa at the top of the box.  His first touch is a bit sloppy, but he blasts the ball off a volley past Rimando from just outside the box.

7′ CHANCE FOR BAYERN- a long ball from Alaba finds Lewandowski, who juggles the ball over a defender and gets off a left footed shot, which is fired right at Rimando who makes the save

5′- Zusi dribbles through the Bayern midfield and passes to Yedlin in the right corner, his cross is headed away after some shaky Bayern defending

4′- Lewandowski gets his first touch of the game but is immediately smothered by the MLS defense

3′- Obafemi Martins plays Clint Dempsey through for the first chance of the game but he is caught offside


9:54: Thierry Henry and David Alaba captaining the squads tonight

9:51: Teams out on the field for the national anthems

9:35: Squads are warming up.  MLS XI starting in a 4-4-2 with Dempsey and Martins up top, while Henry is starting out on the wing.  Bayern is starting with a 3-5-2, with none of their back three being traditional center-backs.  We will likely see many of Bayern’s World Cup players (AND HOPEFULLY JULIAN GREEN) later in the game.



Conor Quinn