Munich (Germany): Tottenham Hotspur prevailed over Bayern Munich on penalties in the finals to win the Audi Cup preseason tournament.
A day after battering Fenerbahce 6-1 in the semifinal, Bayern coach Niko Kovac Wednesday fielded a starting 11 with only one player older than 24 (goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, 33) — and six age 20 or younger.
The 70,000 people in the stands at Munich’s Allianz Arena must have been surprised by the absence of the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Joshua Kimmich, Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller.
While less radical in his approach, Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino left Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen on the bench at the start of the match.
Neuer denied Lucas Moura, but could do nothing to stop Erik Lamela from scoring in the 19th minute courtesy of a perfect pass from Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.
Playing with the 1-0 lead, Pochettino revamped the squad to start the second half, introducing Kane, Son and Eriksen.
Like Neuer in the first half, Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich handled his first challenge, a shot by Son, but conceded to Eriksen just before the hour mark to put the hosts down 2-0.
Two minutes later, however, Jann-Fiete Arp cut the deficit to one, racing down the pitch and putting the ball past Tottenham keeper Paulo Gazzaniga.
Ulreich batted away what looked like a sure goal for Kane and Bayern’s Alphonso Davies scored on a great individual effort from outside the area in the 81st minute to level the score at 2-2, where it remained until the final whistle.
The penalty shootout extended to 14 rounds, ending only when Gazzaniga stopped Boateng to give Spurs the edge, 6-5.
IANS
