Facing a Basel side struggling inside the bottom two of the Swiss Super League, Bayern would have been expected to do most of the running, and so it proved as the guests pegged their hosts into their own half. Joshua Kimmich started as right full-back, but that did not prevent him from being one of Bayern's most dangerous outlets, not least with his crosses and set pieces. Thomas Müller provided the first serious shot on the Basel goal, fizzing in an angled effort that stung the palms of former Augburg goalkeeper Marwin Hitz after 15 minutes. Harry Kane was under close observation from two solid lines of Basel defenders, as the Swiss side got men behind the ball, but the Englishman did get a dangerous cross in which was begging to be turned in, but there were no takers as the first half ended in deadlock.
A miscued effort from half-time substitute Juan Gauto suggested the script for the second half may vary from that of the first, and he was on hand to give the hosts a surprise lead with a fine finish into the top corner of Sven Ulreich's goal on the hour mark after Fabian Frei helped a Dominik Schmid cross on. Thierno Barry had two chances to double Basel's lead, with Ulreich needing to be at his best to thwart him as the hosts looked transformed. Bayern needed a transformation of their own, and they found it following four further substitutions. Debutant Lovro Zvonarek was denied only seconds after coming on before Noel Aséko fared even better with a volley from the edge of the area which took a deflection off Adriano Onyegbule on its way past Mirko Salvi. Zvonarek and Aséko had chances to snatch victory as Bayern reverted to their first-half dominant selves, only there was to be no way through as Basel frustrated the record champions at St.-Jakob-Park.
Match stats
Kane has scored 25 goals from his first 22 competitive appearances for Bayern.
Five of those have been directly assisted by Leroy Sané, who leads the Bundesliga provision chart with eight.
Bayern have faced Basel four times in competitive fixtures, winning three, including a 7-0 thrashing in the most recent encounter.
That victory in the 2011/12 Champions League last-16 second leg overturned a 1-0 defeat at St.-Jakob-Park, the venue for this friendly.
The above loss is one of only two from five competitive visits to Switzerland for the record German champions.
Basel’s Marwin Hitz, Michael Lang, Frei, Renato Veiga and Augustin have all made appearances in the Bundesliga. Kade and Malone were on the books at Hertha Berlin and Augsburg respectively.
Bayern were dominant for the majority in Switzerland but a brief period of success for the home side after the interval saw them take a surprise lead before the German champions produced a late equaliser through 18-year-old Aséko. Not the result Tuchel will have wanted but the Bayern boss will be pleased to have gotten minutes into his players' legs and with the impact of his youngsters off the bench. Plenty of positives ahead of their meeting with Hoffenheim next Friday.
Looks like this will end a draw unless we have some late drama.
90'
Two minutes added on
And Bayern have a corner...
86'
Bayern pushing for winner
Aséko has a go from the edge of the box again and Bayern win yet another corner but they can't find a way through. The visitors really having a go at the death.
83'
Off the post!
Zvonarek thinks he has Bayern in front but his curling effort strikes the post and rebounds to safety. He's looked lively since coming off the bench, as have Tel and Aséko. Bayern's future looking very bright.
It didn't take long for the substitutes to make an impact and it's the youngsters, Zvonarek and Aseko, who help haul Bayern level. Zvonarek almost scores himself and wins a corner with a great piece of skill before Aséko strikes home from the edge of the box. It took a deflection on the way through but Aséko won't care, it's his first goal for the seniors.
Barry is in behind Bayern as Goretzka is caught out but Ulreich races off his line and denies the Basel forward. It was one-v-one, but Ulreich came out on top and, moments later, he has to again rush out to beat Barry to the ball.
64'
Another Basel chance
Bayern are looking sluggish in this second-half and another Schmid cross finds Akalé but his head lands safely wide. He was free in the Bayern box there.
60'
Basel take the lead
Bayern have been so dominant, but it's Basel who take the lead. Gauto, on as a sub, is the man who breaks the deadlock, lifting the ball over Ulreich and into the roof of the net. A lovely finish and Bayern need to up their game.
Tuchel reaches to the bench at half-time with Ulreich, Coman and Goretzka all coming on. The first two are straightforward, while the latter sees Goretzka take up an unfamiliar position at centre-half.
No breakthrough during that first period which was dominated almost entirely by Bayern. Despite that, Basel actually had the best chance to open the scoring and we go into the turnaround still at 0-0.
The best chance of the game falls to new Basel man Kololli, who has a free shot on goal in a similar position to Kane earlier but his effort is tame and Neuer saves comfortably.
35'
Magic Musiala
A wonderful piece of skill and close control from Musiala almost gets him and Müller free but Basel remain stubborn. Bayern keep applying pressure, Basel keep standing firm.
30'
Davies looking bright
The Canadian flier has made a good start here and is causing a lot of problems out wide. Bayern are having to be patient and Davies is helping them to get in behind their hosts who, largely, have all 11-men behind the ball.
Davies does superbly down the left and cuts back to Kane, who's free on the left of the box about 15-yards out, but places wide of the near post. You expected the back of the net to ripple there.
17'
Müller vs. Hitz
An old rivalry resumed as Müller gets behind Basel's defence and fires across goal but Hitz saves well down to his right. First real opening at either end.
14'
Basel's first threat
The hosts suddenly come to life with Veiga nutmegging Müller on the halfway line and then Schmid getting the better of Kimmich out-wide. Nothing comes from it but much better from the hosts.
10'
Strong Bayern start
A fine Kimmich free-kick out on the right causes panic and Upamecano nearly sneaks in at the back post but is denied. Bayern are bossing their hosts here, with Basel struggling to get out of their own half.
6'
Kimmich at right-back
The Germany international is indeed lining up on the right of defence but is seeing plenty of the ball high up the pitch as Bayern dominate the early stages. Kimmich has a crossing opportunity from high and wide but it, similarly, sails high and wide over the bar.
3'
Kane goes close
It's a first sight of goal for Kane and he nearly catches Hitz off guard with a delicate chip from wide right but the Swiss 'keeper tips it over just as it looks like Kane will find the far corner. Sharp start from Bayern.
1'
Off we go
Bayern, playing in all-white, get us underway...
Kick-off!
Previous meetings
These two sides have met four times previously in competitive fixtures, with Bayern winning three of those and Basel one. Their last meeting saw Bayern thrash their Swiss counterparts 7-0 in the 2011/12 Champions League campaign, when the Germans eventually lost the final on penalties.
10 minutes to go
Not long now until kick-off, as we get a first glimpse at the defending Bundesliga champions in 2024. How will they fare? We'll soon find out.
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More on those teams
It's a strong Bayern side that starts in Switzerland, with Kane leading the line. It does appear that Kimmich is moving back to his old position of right-back, but we'll keep an eye on that as the game unfolds. As for Basel, they're largely as expected, with former Bundesliga man Hitz in goal and their fans getting a first sight of winder signing Kololli in midfield.
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Who's in, who's out?
All eyes will be on a refreshed Harry Kane (r.) to see how his first mid-season break has served the Englishman, while Matthijs de Ligt (l.) and Kingsley Coman are welcome returnees following injury. Minjae Kim and Noussair Mazraoui will compete at the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations respectively, and goalkeeper Daniel Peretz was injured in training this week.
After their well-earned winter break, Bayern resumed training on Tuesday and this will be their sole fixture before hosting Hoffenheim on Friday, 12 January when the Bundesliga swings back into action. Coach Thomas Tuchel will be hoping his side quickly get up to speed before the campaign resumes in earnest, including a UEFA Champions League last-16 tie with Lazio in February and March.
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Welcome!
Welcome along to live coverage of Bayern Munich's friendly match at Swiss side Basel on Saturday as the Bundesliga champions prepare to restart the campaign. Kick-off is at 3.30pm CET.
