Borussia Dortmund gained a measure of revenge with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Bayern Munich in the DFL Super Cup.
Juergen Klopp's side were defeated by Bayern in the UEFA Champions
League final in May, but came out on top in an exhilarating match at the
Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
Marco Reus made the most of a Tom Starke error as Dortmund headed into half-time 1-0 ahead.
But it was in the second half that the match really came to life, Arjen
Robben headed home the equaliser, but a Daniel van Buyten own goal and
Ilkay Gundogan opened up a two-goal advantage.
Although Robben's second brought hopes of a Bayern comeback, Reus added
a second with three minutes remaining to wrap up the victory for
Dortmund.
Bayern were without regular
goalkeeper Manuel Neuer so Starke deputised in his absence, while
Xherdan Shaqiri came in for the injured Franck Ribery.
Their opponents were without close-season signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan
through injury, with Bayern target Robert Lewandowski leading the line
up front.
After an edgy start, it was
Dortmund who were gifted the breakthrough in the sixth minute.
Lewandowski met a cross from the right and headed his effort into the
ground, Starke completely misjudged the flight of the ball and spilled
his attempted catch, with Reus making the most of the gift by heading
into the empty net.
And they thought their
lead had been doubled just two minutes later when Lewandowski was set
free by Gundogan, he drilled his effort under Starke but was denied by
the offside flag.
Looking for a way back
into the game, Bayern were denied an equaliser by a fine double save
from Roman Weidenfeller, Thomas Mueller played the ball to Shaqiri, and
his low effort was blocked by the goalkeeper he also sprung back to his
feet to tip away a follow-up effort.
At the
other end, Starke kept the score at 1-0 when Gundogan fed Reus on the
edge of the box, he squared to Lewandowski but the Pole’s goal-bound
effort was foiled by Starke.
In the 35th
minute, Mario Mandzukic was agonisingly close to meeting a David Alaba
centre from the left but he could not quite get contact on the ball.
Both sides continued to push forward but the game went into half time with Dortmund leading 1-0.
After a tepid opening to the second period, the game burst into life with four goals in 10 minutes.
Bayern levelled as Philipp Lahm was left free on the right flank, he
whipped an exquisite cross to the far post and Robben headed home from
six yards.
But they were level for just two
minutes. Gundogan delivered from the right and Bayern defender Van
Buyten headed beyond his own goalkeeper.
A
minute later, and Gundogan made it 3-1. He surged forward on the left,
checked inside on the edge of the area and bent a right-footed effort
into the far corner beyond a helpless Starke.
Bayern refused to surrender the game however, and in the 64th minute
Robben reduced the deficit. Lahm was once more instrumental in the
build-up as he delivered a drilled ball from the right and the Dutchman
was afforded too much time in the area, swivelling on the penalty spot
and driving into the right-hand corner.
The
equaliser almost came in the 79th minute when Mueller volleyed a
delightful Thiago Alcantara chipped ball against the crossbar.
But in the 87th minute Dortmund tied the game up. Substitute
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang raced clear and squared for Reus to pass into
the empty net. He looked offside but the goal stood as Dortmund claimed
the title.
No comments:
Post a Comment