DORTMUND – Borussia Dortmund eased past lacklustre Bayern Munich 2-0 with goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to lift the German Super Cup on Wednesday and draw first blood in their rivalry with the Bavarians this season.
Both clubs left most of their World Cup winners and big names at home or on the bench with the season yet to start and Dortmund were more aggressive from the start despite most eyes on Bayern’s new striker Robert Lewandowski.
“We played very good at the back,” Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp told reporters.
“The Bavarians did not have a lot of chances and we defended superbly. The engine is gradually starting to work well but we are still not at 100 percent.”
With Dortmund fans whistling and jeering the club’s former forward on his first return to the city since joining their rivals, Armenian Mkhitaryan struck in the 23rd minute, rifling home after a superb run.
Bayern, without Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben as well as defender Rafinha and midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago Alcantara, were on the back foot throughout with keeper Manuel Neuer, newly crowned German Player of the Year, repeatedly coming to the rescue.
He was without a chance, however, when winger Aubameyang rose high above defender Jerome Boateng to drill in a header in the 62nd minute and celebrate by putting on a Spiderman mask he slipped out of his sock to the delight of the 80,600 crowd.
TWO STRIKERS
Aubameyang and Italy striker Ciro Immobile played in a two-pronged attack as Dortmund did not look to be missing Lewandowski on Wednesday, despite being without central defender and new captain Mats Hummels and winger Marco Reus.
Defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos also managed to shut out Lewandowski, who had only one clear scoring chance.
“I only focused on the game but Dortmund were better than us,” Lewandowski, last season’s Bundesliga top scorer, told reporters.
“It is always a bit difficult when many players come later into training but we will improve a lot in the next game.”
Bayern’s new-look three-man backline also played below expectations as the Ruhr valley club players continuously found space.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola brought on captain Philipp Lahm and Mario Goetze in the second half but Germany’s World Cup winners could do little to stem the flow of the Dortmund attacks.
There was more bad news for Bayern with midfielder Javi Martinez being taken off after half an hour with a suspected knee ligament injury.
“Many of us only recently returned to training and we also have some players injured,” said Lahm. “It was not easy. We did not have that many chances but we are still in the middle of our pre-season preparations.”
The hosts had chances to add to their tally en route to retaining the trophy, with last season’s double winners Bayern, who also lost the Super Cup 12 months ago, looking more like a work in progress with the league start just over a week away. – Nampa-Reuters
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