Bayern Munich wins German Supercup in penalty shootout
Bayern Munich, the reigning Bundesliga champion, won the German Supercup on Saturday after defeating Borussia Dortmund in a penalty shootout (5-4; 2-2 in regulation time), with the final shot missed by Spanish player Marc Bartra.
In the 90 minutes prior - no extra time was played - Dortmund, playing at home, outperformed Bayern, who equalized with just two minutes remaining (min. 88) with an own goal by Polish player Lukasz Piszczek, after a free-kick.
Before that, the home team had shown much more seriousness and ambition on the field. An effort that they quickly turned into benefits. Spanish player Javi Martinez lost the ball in the center of the field under the pressure of American Christian Pulisic, who took off and was unmarked to shoot past goalkeeper Sven Ulreich (min. 11).
However, Polish striker Robert Lewandowski managed to take his team out of the initial setback just seven minutes later, converting a pass from his teammate Joshua Kimmich (18).
"We didn't have much time to prepare for the match, but from now on we will be able to train calmly. I'm very happy that we won this first title of the season," said the striker in the mixed zone.
- Important absences -
In the second half, pushed by their fans (81,360 spectators at the Signal Iduna Park), Borussia once again proved to be superior to Bayern, cornering them with football and chances. Gabonese player Aubameyang got behind the defense to receive a through ball from Frenchman Ousmane Dembele and chipped the ball over the goalkeeper (70).
Bayern suffered from the absence of key players such as Jerome Boateng, Austrian David Alaba, and Dutch Arjen Robben. They were also unable to count on their star signing of the current summer transfer window, Colombian James Rodriguez, who was injured against Napoli in the Audi Cup match three days earlier (2-0 in favor of the Italians).
And just when it seemed like Dortmund - the reigning German Cup champion - was on track for victory, a free-kick in the final two minutes changed the course of the match. After a messy play, Piszczek ended up pushing the ball into his own net.
In the penalty shootout, which ended in a 4-4 tie after the first five shots (Joshua Kimmich missed for Bayern and Sebastian Rode missed for Borussia), Bayern showed more composure.
Defender Niklas Sule calmly scored the sixth penalty, and Bartra succumbed to the pressure in the reply. He shot hard and mid-height, to the right side of the goalkeeper, who guessed his intentions and secured the title for Bayern, also the winner of the previous Supercup, against the same opponent.
"The preseason didn't go as well as we expected (they lost four out of the five friendly matches played)," said goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, who saved the penalty from the Catalan defender. "But today we showed that we're back."