Munich: Bayern Munich ended their run of five straight defeats against Borussia Dortmund by collecting the German Supercup in a 2-1 victory at the Allianz Arena.
The Bavarian giants capitalised on a woeful first-half performance from the Bundesliga champions, with new arrival Mario Mandzukic opening the scoring before Thomas Muller doubled the advantage five minutes later.
Dortmund rallied in the second half, eventually pulling one back through Robert Lewandowski, but they were unable to find another, allowing Bayern to claim the spoils.
It was Jupp Heynckes’ men that emerged with attacking impetus, and quickly took control of the contest. Franck Ribery’s marauding run led to him producing a low ball across goal, and Dortmund’s defence could only look on as Mandzukic slotted home to net on his competitive debut for his new club.
On 11 minutes, it was two. Arjen Robben’s run deep into Dortmund territory led to him producing a delicate chip that rebounded from the upright, only for Muller to be on hand to lash the ball into the net, and leave Jurgen Klopp’s side reeling.
Bayern cruised through the remainder of the half, experiencing minimal resistance from their old adversaries; indeed, this Dortmund performance looked a far cry from their dominant German Cup final win of just three months previous.
As the second half commenced, however, they began to advance into Bayern territory. Manuel Neuer had to react quickly to beat away a Lewandowski effort from close range, and then Marco Reus got his angles ever so slightly askew, curling his shot marginally wide of the target.
Mats Hummels then glanced a Reus free kick a whisker wide of the post when he should perhaps have found the target, and suddenly Bayern’s two-goal advantage seemed far from secure.
Mario Gotze and Ivan Perisic were summoned from the bench by Klopp, replacing Grosskreutz and Leitner, and the changes should have provided instant reward, but for the profligacy of Lewandowski.
Gotze combined to excellent effect with Reus, laying the ball perfectly into the path of the Pole, who allowed Philipp Lahm to interject and his eventual strike went wide of the target.
But Lewandowski made no mistake 15 minutes from time, setting up a grandstand finish in the process. The frontman swivelled inside the area and placed his shot expertly inside the post, leaving Neuer helpless and Bayern nervous.
New Dortmund arrival Julian Schieber almost made himself an instant hero moments later, but after collecting Gotze’s through ball, he contrived to guide his effort narrowly wide of goal.
Bayern were hanging on, and Heynckes took action, replacing Ribery with Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in an effort to stem the flow of pressure.
There was still time for controversy, as Lahm appeared to handle the ball inside the area, leaving Klopp apoplectic on the touchline, but the referee waved play on and Bayern were able to maintain their composure and clinch the first silverware of the German season.
Goal.com
First Published: Monday, August 13, 2012, 09:01