BERLIN – Borussia Dortmund claimed the first silverware of the
season with the German Super Cup on Saturday while Bayern Munich's
reaction to the 2-0 defeat was mixed.
"I think we turned in a decent display, not a very good one, but
decent," said Bayern coach Niko Kovac. "We were dominant, we made two
mistakes Dortmund capitalized on. We failed to take our chances,
which is why we lost the match.
"We're in the fourth week of pre-season. It was the first match where
everyone played 90 minutes, you can't expect more in this situation."
Kovac's assessment is not completely false but perhaps a little
generous. Dortmund could have scored through Marco Reus inside 60
seconds and missed the better chances before Paco Alcacer and Jadon
Sancho struck for victory in the second half.
Bayern in contrast struggled to create many clear opportunities
and Polish striker Robert Lewandowski renewed his demand for action
in the transfer market.
"You could see that we have problems," said the forward. "The young
players who were on the bench have potential, that's true. But
sometimes you just need players on the bench who can help immediately
or give a stimulus."
So far this close season Bayern have signed two World Cup winning
defenders - Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard - and young striker
Fiete Arp.
The long pursuit of Manchester City winger Leroy Sane is ongoing as
Bayern have still not adequately replaced the departed Franck Ribery
and Arjen Robben.
"My opinion remains exactly the same," Lewandowksi said. "Today was
exactly the right time to see what happens if we have a certain
number of professional players."
None of Bayern's new trio started the match and only Nico Schulz of
Dortmund's arrivals was in their first eleven.
Essentially Dortmund's team from last season beat Bayern's team from
last season at home - as they did in the Bundesliga only to finish
two points behind the Munich side come May.
"If things continue like that until the end of the season, I'll take
it," said Reus, who cautioned: "It goes without saying that the match
is not a real benchmark for the season.
"But it was still a spectacular game, we were more effective and
deserved to get the victory too."
Dortmund beat Bayern in the 2013 and 2014 Super Cups only to make no
real impact in the Bundesliga title race.
But with Mats Hummels, Julian Brandt and Thorgan Hazard all boosting
their squad, they will hope to have addressed the lack of depth which
cost them last term.
"We want this high-level competition for places," said Reus. "We have
a major objective for this season and we'll only achieve it
together."
The real action starts next weekend when Dortmund travel to Uerdingen
in the German Cup and Bayern visit Energie Cottbus. The Bundesliga
then begins the following weekend.
But perhaps a more significant date is the September 2 end of the
transfer window - only when Bayern's squad is complete will Dortmund
truly be able to consider their chances of a first title since 2012.