Bayern Munich vs. AC Milan: Score and Reaction from 2015 Audi Cup Friendly

Bayern Munich defeated AC Milan 3-0 on Tuesday evening to reach the final of this year's Audi Cup, where they will meet Real Madrid.

Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to score a terrific third for Bayern after Juan Bernat and Mario Gotze slotted home either side of half-time.     

The Serie A representatives were disappointingly limp in their trip to Munich and struggled to impose much of a threat on goal, allowing Der FCB to run rampant in the possession stakes.

Bayern boss Pep Guardiola saw fit to hand Arturo Vidal and Joshua Kimmich their home debuts for the club, but Bayern Central writer Matthew Buning insisted the latter will most likely be pushed out in the future:

For Milan fans, this was an opportunity to see how the attacking relationship between summer signings Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano is developing ahead of a new page in the club's history.

Perhaps it was the urge of a home audience or a change in Guardiola's tactics that did it, but it was evident from the opening passages of play that Bayern were playing with a winning mentality on Tuesday.

Vidal took little time to impress his new fans with a couple of stern tackles against his old Serie A opponents, but Bleacher Report's Stefan Bienkowski was unimpressed with Milan's submissive attitude:

Pre-season is usually taken as an opportunity to experiment against rare opposition, but Milan seemed almost constricted by their own efforts to save face, suffocated by a lack of willingness to take risks.

Kimmich's day was brought to an early end by a hefty challenge from Milan anchor Nigel de Jong, however, evoking a strong reaction from Guardiola on the touchline.

A quarter of the way into the tie, Juan Bernat's effort deflected off Cristian Zapata's boot and past Diego Lopez, gifting Bayern their Audi Cup opener, per Footy Vines:

"

GOAL!! Bernat gives Bayern the lead against Milan. 1-0 https://t.co/IpUHmf7EvS

— Footy Vines (@FutbollVines) August 4, 2015"

The rest of the half was an exercise in torment as Guardiola's men mounted their assault, but the Italians managed to make it to the break with a one-goal deficit.

There was controversy at the interval when Guardiola had to be separated from De Jong in the tunnel, per Bleacher Report's Adam Digby, in relation to the Kimmich tackle incident:

Xabi Alonso entered the fray in place of Philipp Lahm early in the second half, but the Mirror's Sheridan Bird highlighted the Spaniard's influence as more of a hindrance than a help:

It certainly didn't appear to impede the side on this occasion, however, with Bayern only growing more comfortable as Milan retreated further into their shells.

Bayern Squad posted footage of Mario Gotze's 74th-minute strike, putting the fixture beyond any doubt, spurring Rossoneri manager Sinisa Mihajlovic to nearly swap his entire lineup:

It did the visitors no good, though as half-time substitutes Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski linked up for Bayern's third, the former feeding the latter to volley home.

The Poland international has a habit of making his impact felt irrespective of whether he starts, slamming home a sumptuous volley to embarrass Milan just prior to the full-time whistle, per Footy Vines:

"

GOAL!! Lewandowski with a sweet volley against Milan. 3-0 https://t.co/rL7PShFvKI

— Footy Vines (@FutbollVines) August 4, 2015"

The tournament hosts will come up against Real Madrid in Wednesday's final after Los Blancos handed Tottenham Hotspur a 2-0 defeat earlier in the day. Madrid will be without Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, who are both out of the competition through injury, which will help Bayern's cause. 

Meanwhile, third place is the best the Rossoneri can hope for as they seek to make a swift bounce-back in their pre-season preparations.

Post-Match Reaction

Following the eruption between Milan midfielder De Jong and Guardiola at the half-time interval, Rossoneri coach Mihajlovic was asked for his take on the situation in the post-match press conference.

Per Italian outlet Sport Mediaset (h/t Football Italia), the Milan helmsman commented that he did not see the incident while admitting Bayern as the far superior outfit on Tuesday:

"

I didn’t see the challenge. Football isn’t dancing and fouls are part of the sport. This is also why games like this cannot be called friendlies. In any case, it was one-way traffic because of how good our opponents were. They are solid and road-tested, while we didn’t put in any intensity. We’ve got to improve and we are working to improve.

"

While one would be inclined to agree that football comes with its dangers, those types of collisions are perhaps not to be expected in a friendly atmosphere.