Bayern Munich vs. Valencia: Score and Reaction from 2015 Pre-Season Friendly

Bayern Munich's tour of China got off to a winning start on Saturday as the Bundesliga champions beat Valencia 4-1, where a first-half Thomas Muller brace set the continental titans on their path to victory.

Pep Guardiola's side led 2-1 at the break following Muller's double, before Thiago Alcantara and Robert Lewandowski added the extras in the second period to cap off their win. Bayern Central confirmed the result:

The Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing proved to be a fitting venue for a clash between two of Europe's heaviest hitters, with a Chinese audience lapping up the rarity of the occasion.

Bayern managed to score just one goal in their Telekom Cup outings against Augsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach earlier this month, a return on which they were undoubtedly seeking to improve.

The early signs were that they would do just that against Los Che, too, as Guardiola's side took little time to find their rhythm and assert an attacking shape early on.

Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press

That forward momentum didn't take long to bear fruit, either, as Philipp Lahm teed up Muller for his first following a passage of precise passing play, beating Valencia goalkeeper Yoel from the edge of the area.

Douglas Costa and Juan Bernat were among those looking lively from the beginning, and Guardiola will have been particularly pleased to see his new signing fitting in so well in an attacking midfield role.

Bayern were knocked back and seeing double, though, when Rodrigo de Paul found enough space on the left to find namesake Rodrigo in the box, heading home from close range. Bleacher Report's Clark Whitney lamented Bayern's height deficiency:

Argentinian winger De Paul only moved to Spain last year but has settled in well at Valencia, with Spanish football writer Andrew Gaffney tipping him for big honours in future:

That goal lit a fire under the La Liga representatives, who began to enjoy more territory with a newfound confidence and even looked capable of making it to the break level pegging.

But Bavarian bruiser Muller had other plans for Nuno Espirito Santo's side, again latching on to a piece of Lahm excellence to usher Bayern back into the lead. Gaffney praised Lahm's input in particular:

A swift call to arms may have seen Los Che reclaim their foothold in the tie, but it took Der FCB just 10 minutes to open up a two-goal cushion after the restart.

Thiago stormed into the six-yard box as Costa ravaged his way down the left for the former to secure an easy conversion, which Bundesliga writer Susie Schaaf believes will become a familiar link-up in the near future:

Both teams rang the changes, and while Alvaro Negredo, Shkodran Mustafi and Sofiane Feghouli gave Valencia reinforcements, the introduction of Robert Lewandowski showed off Bayern's depth in quality.

It took the Poland international just 10 minutes to make that impact felt on the scoresheet, per commentator Deji Kofi Faremi, calmly timing his cut in from the right before unleashing a superbly curled shot into the far right:

Guardiola clearly felt the result was clinched as he rang the changes, offering the likes of Julian Green, Gianluca Gaudino, Sinan Kurt and Joshua Kimmich much-needed playing time in the senior ranks.

And the youngsters would impress, as Green and his fellow prospects saw out the win by a margin of three goals, giving Bayern an ideal start to their pre-season tour of China.

Guardiola's men have just three days before they lace up against Inter in Shanghai, hoping to carry over the momentum gained from their win over Valencia on Saturday.

Los Che have a longer wait before their next fixture, taking on Porto, Stoke City and Cologne in the 2015 Colonia Cup, where they'll hope to bounce back from this heavy defeat in swift fashion.