In front of 81,365 spectators at a sold-out Signal Iduna Park, Bayern were clearly the stronger side for much of the first half. Dortmund improved significantly after the break and pulled one back through Fabio Silva, but they were unable to find an equaliser. Bayern therefore lifted the Supercup for the 12th time.
Brown surprises in the No 10 role and scores
Vincent Kompany was without several players, including Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl, and opted for an unusual solution. Nathaniel Brown, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer and normally deployed at left-back, started as the No 10 behind Harry Kane. Austria international Konrad Laimer moved into the back four.
The experiment worked. After an initially even opening, Bayern gradually took control and began putting Dortmund under pressure with an aggressive press. In the 28th minute, Michael Olise broke forward down the right and cut the ball back for Brown, who finished low from around 16 metres to make it 1-0. It was his first goal for Bayern on his competitive debut.
The half-time statistics reflected Bayern’s superiority. They led the shot count 11-1, had six efforts on target and enjoyed 69 per cent possession. Dortmund spent long spells defending deep and looked to break quickly after regaining the ball, but rarely created any genuine danger.
Shortly before the interval, Bayern punished another Dortmund mistake. Their pressing forced the hosts into a turnover and Olise reacted quickly to make it 2-0 in first-half stoppage time. The Frenchman had therefore both scored and assisted before the break.
Dortmund improve after half-time
Niko Kovač reacted at the interval by introducing Giannis Konstantelias for Samuele Inacio. Joey Veerman, Maximilian Beier and Fabio Silva were among those who followed later. Dortmund became considerably more proactive and began forcing Bayern back much more regularly.
Konstantelias immediately added impetus to the attack, while Manuel Neuer was soon forced into his first serious save of the evening from Konstantinos Karetsas. Bayern gradually lost the control that had defined their first-half performance and found it harder to put together longer spells of possession.
Dortmund were rewarded for their improvement in the 75th minute. A quick attack down the left ended with Fabio Silva finishing to make it 2-1 and set up a tense final phase.
Bayern still had chances to settle the contest at the other end, but Gregor Kobel denied both Aleksandar Pavlović and Olise. Dortmund also remained dangerous until Ramy Bensebaini was shown a red card in the 90th minute for a heavy challenge on Ismael Saibari. Even with ten men, BVB had one final opportunity to equalise, but Beier sent his stoppage-time effort over the bar.
xG figures closely reflect the final score
Across the 90 minutes, Bayern had 58 per cent possession and registered ten shots on target. The expected goals figures of 2.35 to 1.11 also mirrored both the overall balance of the game and the eventual 2-1 scoreline remarkably closely.
Olise was the decisive attacking player with a goal and an assist. Brown, meanwhile, showed that he can offer Kompany an additional option in an unfamiliar role. The Bayern coach later described the new signing as an “incredibly intelligent player” and highlighted his ability to find space. The position was not entirely new to Brown, however, as Kompany had already tested him in central attacking areas during pre-season.
Kompany praises Bayern’s mentality
Kompany was understandably pleased after securing the first trophy of the season and particularly praised his team’s attitude. Because several players had returned at different stages of pre-season, some members of the squad had completed only a limited number of training sessions together.
“Today we’re happy with the first trophy – but tomorrow we’ll be hungry again,” Kompany said after the game.
Kovač, by contrast, was particularly frustrated with Dortmund’s first-half performance. He felt his side had started reasonably well but allowed Bayern to grow into the match through their own mistakes. The second goal just before the interval was especially costly. He was, however, pleased with the significant improvement after the break.
Bayern therefore head into the Bundesliga season with their first piece of silverware already secured. Dortmund, meanwhile, can at least take encouragement from the response they produced after a difficult opening half.
