Bayern Munich beat India 4-0 in Bhutia’s farewell

Thursday, 12 January 2012 00:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Thomas Muller’s brace powered Bayern Munich to a 4-0 victory over India, who ensured they were defeated but not disgraced in former captain Baichung Bhutia’s farewell match on Tuesday.

The German giants pumped in four first half goals through Mario Gomez (14th minute), Muller (29, 37), Bastian Schweinsteiger (43) but India’s spirited defence and the tourists’ cautious approach ensured the victory margin did not get bigger.

“The boys got carried away by the Bayern big names but they played really well in the second half,” a satisfied Bhutia told reporters. The German team hardly broke a sweat as they immediately underlined the gulf in standard separating the sides. Within the first three minutes, the near-capacity crowd at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium watched in horror as the Germans pinned the hosts in their own half, forcing them to crowd the goalmouth.

But even that was not enough. Gomez opened the account scoring from a goalmouth scramble before Muller struck a brace, first nodding in a Arjen Robben cross from right and then slotting home from close quarter. Muller could have completed his hat-trick but his shot, after he swivelled to shrug off his marker inside the penalty box, hit the crossbar.

Schweinsteiger, coming off a collarbone injury, got on the scoresheet soon with a measured shot from outside the box that eluded a flailing Karanjit Singh in the goal. Replacing Karanjit in the second half, Subhasish Roy Chowdhury got immediately busy under the bar, pulling off a couple of brave saves to deny the visitors. India put up a better show in this half, managing a couple of corners and Rakesh Mashi even had a go at the Bayern goal though it went straight to Manuel Neuer.

Baichung came off in the 86th minute, shaking hands with players from both sides, amid a thunderous applause from the 30,000-strong crowd.

Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes gave a frank assessment of the hosts when he said his team should have wone by a bigger margin against a side whose level “was not similar to ours”. Robben was more generous.

“In general, they played well. They have speed and strength. If they get the right facility, they can improve tactically and technically. Overall, they made a good impression,” Robben said.