Who else but Bayern Munich

 

The disaster against Hoffenheim did not deter Bayern Munich from winning their fifth title in a row. The finals of the DFL Super Cup offered another Der Klassiker, where it was not short of action and until Joshua Kimmich stepped up to score the winner, the match was hanging on a tight rope. Obviously, the Der Klassiker should be exciting and thrilling like this – top-quality football all around.

The Bayern Munich manager, Hansi Flick changed the style of Bayern a bit - The first adjustment was seen in Bayern’s first-half pressing. The German Giants were not as aggressive in their Gegenpressing and remained cautious of their positioning whenever Dortmund started playing out from the back.

The players didn’t over-commit in numbers while trying to win the ball in the opposition’s half and maintained the team’s constantly shifting 4-1-4-1 or 4-2-3-1 structure throughout the course of the match.

While having possession, a combination of Thomas Muller’s absence in attacking-midfield and Dortmund’s midfield block resulted in Bayern moving the ball through wider areas – counterattacks dominated more often, which we did not see in the Champions League.

A Dortmund corner paved the way for Alphonso Davies who shifted the ball away from danger to Kingsley Coman ahead of him on the left, with Muller's pass then releasing Robert Lewandowski, whose low cross from the right was struck firmly at goal by Tolisso.

Marwin Hitz got enough on the ball to turn it against the crossbar, but it bounced down and Tolisso bundled over the line for the 18th-minute breakthrough.

It was 2-0 to Bayern in the 32nd minute when Davies hoisted a cross from the left to the far post and Muller powered in a header off the right post.

The Raumdeuter, as usual, was at his best last night and now he is the most decorated player in the history of Bayern Munich – 9 Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal on 6 occasions, 2 Champions Leagues, one World Cup, one Club World Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cups and now 6 German Super Cups.

Muller picked up his 26th trophy just last week when Bayern defeated Sevilla 2-1 after extra-time in the UEFA Super Cup, and he broke the record previously held by Bayern great Bastian Schweinsteiger less than a week later.

But rather than going for more, Bayern decided to play the game in a 4-1-4-1 format in the second half, which actually put the pressure back on Flick.

 In the first 35 minutes, Borussia focused on the high backline of Bayern and outnumbering them while building up and formed a tight midfield block in front of it. After the first half an hour of play, however, Dortmund went the extra mile by charging the Bayern center-backs.

Their pressing disrupted Bayern’s build-up play and they were able to create substantial danger by forcing turnovers.

Both of Dortmund’s goals came after they won the ball through their pressing and anticipation-play, and hitting Bayern on the break.

Brandt was clinical after Benjamin Pavard gave away the ball, with slick passing freeing the Dortmund forward to rifle powerfully past Neuer for a 39th-minute goal that changed the momentum.

Haaland grabbed a leveler in the 55th minute when Thomas Delaney played him in and the striker buried a terrific finish past Neuer, who four minutes later parried a thumping effort to deny Haaland the second.

With the match gaining momentum like the UEFA Super Cup, Delaney lost the ball near the halfway line and Kimmich was quick to pounce, feeding Robert Lewandowski and continuing his run to receive the return pass.

His initial shot was pushed out but, despite being down on the turf, Kimmich managed to get a foot to the ball and prod it into the back of the net as Dortmund defenders converged.

Bayern breathed a sigh of relief and maintained their habit of collection of trophies this year.

Bayern won, but their fluency looked a tad disturbed. Perhaps, the pressure maintaining the high standard they have set so far and the workload on the players are affecting; nevertheless, they still are showing their nag to win on matches when it matters the most – when the matter is about exhibiting absolute precision under pressure, Bayern are the masters.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 01/10/2020  Who else but Bayern Munich

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Faisal Caesar