After two straight victories, Aston Villa were beaten in the third and final match of their Asian tour, although Bayern Munich, 2-1 winners at Kai Tak Stadium on Friday, were a rather different proposition from Indonesia All Stars and BG Pathum United.
Not that Unai Emery would be unduly worried by the outcome of this Audi Football Summit contest, played on a scarred surface that Vincent Kompany called “challenging”, in front of a supposed 38,176 fans, and lit up by a goalscoring second-half substitute appearance from Bayern winger Luis Diaz.
No, the head coach must be scratching his head over how he can emulate a terrific last campaign when Villa won the Europa League to end a 30-year trophy drought, and obtained Champions League qualification for the second time in three seasons.
Regardless of the riches on offer in Europe’s premium competition, and the fact that co-owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are said to boast a combined wealth of around US$12 billion, Villa had to sell the outstanding midfield pair of Morgan Rogers and Youri Tielemans to comply with Uefa and Premier League financial regulations.
Emery could yet lose Ezri Konza, too, with Arsenal apparently very keen on the England defender.
Vincent Kompany was reluctant to be drawn into a conversation about spending rules after “travelling in so many different time zones”, but the Bayern head coach acknowledged he empathised with Villa after working under the same restrictions as Burnley manager.