DFL-Supercup 2019: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Bayern Munich - 3 Talking Points from the game
The 2019 DFL-Supercup kick-started the new football season, and the fact that it had a Der Klassiker in-store made the occasion even more special. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund prepared to face each other at the Westfalenstadion on Saturday evening in a fantastic contest ahead of the start of the league.
The Super Cup is played between the Bundesliga Champions and the winner of the DFB-Pokal. However, Bayern Munich won both trophies last season and, as a result, they faced Borussia Dortmund, who narrowly finished second in the league last season.
The two clubs are no stranger to the Super Cup; before Saturday's results, Bayern had won the trophy 7 times, including the last three years in a row, while Dortmund had won it 5 times. And on Saturday, it was a chance for both clubs to start the new season on a high, by getting their hands on the first piece of silverware available this season.
Both teams started the game well, with Borussia Dortmund looking the better side at the start. However, Bayern got back into the game and controlled proceedings in the first half. After the break, Dortmund took the lead through Paco Alcacer in the 48th minute, before Jadon Sancho doubled the lead in the 69th minute.
The Bundesliga Champions rallied late into the game but failed to score. Borussia Dortmund won their first Silverware of the season in an extremely entertaining encounter and here are 3 talking points from the game:
#3 The Bayern Munich defence looked shaky
Bayern Munich's decision to allow Mats Hummels to rejoin Borussia Dortmund this summer was always going to have an inherent risk associated with it. However, the Bavarians had Niklas Sule and Jerome Boateng and had also roped in Lucas Hernandez from Atletico Madrid and Benjamin Pavard from Stuttgart. It was expected that Bayern had enough cover at the back, but the game against Dortmund certainly raised a few questions.
Niko Kovac opted for a centre back pairing of Boateng and Sule, which is expected to be the preferred pairing this summer. Unfortunately, it was a night to forget for Sule, who started the game with a mistake. Neuer was required to make a big save in the second minute and it was a sign of things to come.
Too many times in the game, the Bayern defence was caught off guard by the Dortmund attack, with the Boateng-Sule pairing unable to handle the speed and trickery of Sancho and Co. Sule remained a spectator for both goals and the youngster must improve quickly before the start of the season.