Borussia Dortmund beaten in Supercup; Bayern Munich clinch 12th title
Borussia Dortmund's new season began with a 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Saturday as the Bavarians clinched a record-extending 12th title.
Fabio Silva's second-half strike failed to inspire a comeback while Ramy Bensebaini was also sent off for the hosts late on, adding insult to injury.
Held at Signal Iduna Park, it was the visitors who came flying out the blocks as Bayern took the lead after 28 minutes through Nathaniel Brown after having probed the BVB defense for a while.
Attempting to dispossess Michael Olise inside the box, Bensebaini's clearance fell straight to Brown, who took a touch before arrowing one into the far corner beyond Gregor Kobel for 1-0.
Luis Diaz came close with a rasping shot just eight minutes later, but Kobel dived to parry it out of play, while at the other end, Bensebaini's goal was ruled out for offside.
Bayern remained in firm control of the match but some wasteful finishing kept them from doubling their advantage as Brown fired a shot wide after going one-on-one with Kobel.
However, there was no stopping Olise from making it 2-0 in the first added minute of the opening stanza as the Frenchman darted in at full pelt and scrambled a shot into the bottom corner.
Trailing 2-0 at the break, Die Borussen had a mountain to climb in the second half but weren't flustered by the task and in fact, came back stronger from the break.
With renewed vim and vigor, the BVB took the game to Bayern. They moved the ball fast and started penetrating the Bavarian box more clinically.
It could've been 1-1 in the 51st minute when new signing Giannis Konstantelias' looping pass evaded a host of red shirts inside the box, but Serhou Guirassy wasn't best positioned to bury it.
As Luis Diaz attempted to clear it, Felix Nmecha plucked it off the Bayern winger and had a go, but Manuel Neuer's save sent it out for a corner.
In the 75th minute, Dortmund finally had their goal as Silva rounded off a wonderful team-move. Konstantelias ran into acres of space on the left and then cut inside before squaring it to Daniel Svensson.
The Swede raced inside the area and laid it off for Silva, who coolly slotted it home to reduce the deficit as Dortmund's comeback seemed on.
However, their task was cut out in the 90th minute when Bensebaini was shown a straight red for a studs-up challenge on Ismael Saibari.
With momentum now back in their favor, Bayern got on the attacking foot again and Olise hit Dortmund on the break, sprinting forward on the left, but was unable to make a finish.
There was one final twist in this rollicking tail when Waldemar Anton found Maximilian Beier inside the box, but the forward, who had the goal gaping in front of him, contrived to fire it into the stands instead, missing a huge chance of what could have brought Dortmund level in the dying embers.
Bayern saw out the last few minutes to emerge 2-1 victors and clinch the German Supercup yet again, while the BVB suffered a third consecutive heartbreak in the single-legged season-opening clash.
Dortmund open their Bundesliga campaign next weekend against Hamburg.
