Almost two weeks after the Philadelphia Union laid bare the gulf in class between D.C. United and the MLS elite, Bayern Munich arrived at sold-out Audi Field to expose the ocean separating the bottom-dweller from the sharks of European soccer.
As the German powerhouse rolled to a 6-2 victory in Wednesday’s exhibition, with pricey offseason signings Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt each scoring moments into his debut, D.C. was outclassed again. But unlike in the MLS record-tying 7-0 shellacking United took from host Philadelphia on July 8, D.C. acquitted itself well as the score got out of hand, with second-division affiliate Loudoun United’s Skage Simonsen and academy product Ted Ku-DiPietro scoring against the 10-time defending Bundesliga champions.