Eight goals are scored in the Supercup between champions FC Bayern and cup winners Leipzig. Munich actually have everything under control, also thanks to an outstanding young star. In the last few minutes, however, they almost give up the game, which Julian Nagelsmann explains very simply.
The 13th edition of the German Supercup since it was revived for the 2010/11 season. The football-playing marketing vehicle from Leipzig had just moved up from the fifth to the fourth league when Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz made a groundbreaking decision. Not RB Salzburg should be the key project of the football ambitions that the Austrian global company has been pushing with great financial efforts ever since - but RB Leipzig. As a result, lawn ball sport rose three more times, established itself in the extended German top and won its first major title in May 2022. The DFB Cup. Therefore now the first appearance in the Supercup.
For FC Bayern, on the other hand, the duel between champion and cup winner (or runner-up if Bayern win the double again) has long been a must in the pre-season. Since 2010, the Supercup has only taken place once without Bayern, who won five of the most recent events. Which is only logical if you briefly recall that FC Bayern primarily measures the success of a season by their performance in the Champions League. Regardless of that, the Supercup is also a final that the winner puts on his letterhead, while not only the loser quickly forgets about it.
The explosiveness of this game feeds anyway more from the question of whether FC Bayern will send a transfer to the retort club in the near future in order to be able to sign a top performer in return. Julian Nagelsmann came to Säbener Straße this way last year, as did his coaching team. Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer followed, both in the Munich starting XI today. The (still?) Leipziger Konrad Laimer, who FC Bayern would like to sign, would also be an option. This accumulation of transfers recently led lawn ball sport managing director Oliver Mintzlaff to accuse FC Bayern of a lack of creativity in squad planning. A reproach with a certain irony inherent in it. After all, according to Transfermarkt.de, no fewer than 18 professionals have moved from Salzburg to Leipzig in recent years.
Leipzig: Gulacsi - Simakan (79th Novoa), Orban, Halstenberg - Klostermann, Laimer, Kampl (52nd Olmo), Henrichs - Szoboszlai (90th 1 Haidara), Forsberg (52nd Silva) - Nkunku. - Trainer: TedescoMunich: Neuer - Pavard (78th Mazraoui), Upamecano (78th de Ligt), Hernandez, Davies - Kimmich, Sabitzer - Müller (68th Gravenberch), Musiala (60th) Coman - Gnabry (78th Sané) , Mane. Coach: NagelsmannReferee: Robert Schröder (Hannover) Goals: 0: 1 Musiala (14th), 0: 2 Mané (31st), 0: 3 Pavard (45th), 1: 3 Halstenberg (59th), 1: 4 Gnabry (66th), 2: 4 Nkunku (77th, penalty kick), 3: 4 Olmo (89th), 3: 5 Sané (90th 8) Spectators: 47,069 (sold out, in Leipzig) Yellow cards: Simakan, Klostermann - Kimmich, Hernandez, Sané, Neuer
8 minutes: Manuel Neuer makes a trip and makes a mistake. Christopher Nkunku gets the ball while the Bayern keeper rushes back into his goal. Marcel Sabitzer clears the striker's flank into the goal before the really big danger arises.
14 minutes, GOOOAAAL FOR FC BAYERN: The Leipzig defense does not get a corner for FC Bayern cleared, the attempt to combine it out fails miserably. Lucas Hernández steers the ball to Jamal Musiala, who shoots flat from the inside right and around 13 meters.
16 minutes: NO GOAL FOR LEIPZIG: Nkunku scores, but the Munich lead remains. Because the attacker is offside when Mohamed Simakan wins the ball in midfield and puts it through. This is then confirmed by the check by the video referee.
31 minutes, GOOOAAAL FOR FC BAYERN: Sadio Mané's first competitive goal! And it probably won't get much easier for Africa's footballer of the year. Musiala's pass down the left exposes the defence, Serge Gnabry already has all the space in the world and plays low in the middle. Mané is waiting there, who can then choose where in the goal he wants to place the ball.
45 minutes, GOOOAAAL FOR FC BAYERN: Leipzig are completely defeated here at times, and that is also reflected in the result. As with the opening goal, it is a corner that leads to success. Thomas Müller plays a one-two with Musiala, who then completes his dribbling with a great pass to the backcourt. Right in the foot of Benjamin Pavard, who has no trouble inserting.
Halftime: Yes, it's just the Supercup, and yes, it's only 45 minutes. But what FC Bayern shows here in the pressing, in terms of combinations and dribbles in the right moments and spaces, is remarkable for the first competitive game of the season.
56 minutes: Almost the goal! Andre Silva finds Dominik Szoboszlai's corner, but his header does not smack behind the goal line from the bottom edge of the bar, but back into the field.
59 minutes, GOOOOOR FOR LEIPZIG: The beginning of a comeback? Another corner kick, this time from the other side and from Nkunku. At the far post, Marcel Halstenberg heads so precisely that the ball drops over Neuer into the far corner.
66 minutes, GOOOAAAL FOR FC BAYERN: The end of the comeback. Munich punish Leipzig's mistakes mercilessly today. Kingsley Coman, who came on shortly before, sends Müller on the journey, because Gulacsi can only clear a shot from the half-right into the middle. Lukas Klostermann is standing there and is hit by the ball in such a way that Gnabry gets it right in front of his feet. The return of the three-goal lead stops the Leipzig comeback.
69 minutes: NO GOAL FOR FC BAYERN: Mané scores, the video assistant checks for a while and then confirms the referee's decision for offside. The newcomer is sent into the free space in front of Gulacsi with a through ball and successfully lobs. However, the 30-year-old was a bit too far ahead at the moment of play.
71st and 72nd minute: A double chance for the cup winners, first Nkunku fails at Davies, then Silva adjusts the ball, which is worth seeing, before he flicks it a bit too high and therefore over the goal.
76 minutes, PENALTY FOR LEIPZIG: Of course, FC Bayern gets the opponent back into the game. Dani Olmo tries to get a pass to the edge of the box and is tackled by Pavard. Clear penalty, and Nkunku doesn't need to be told twice. The Frenchman aims with force in the upper left corner, Neuer has no chance.
84 minutes: NO GOAL FOR FC BAYERN: Mané scores again, but the goal doesn't count again. Leroy Sané puts it through nicely to Kingsley Coman, who finds Mané in the middle. A combination worth seeing, which, however, takes place offside at crucial moments.
89th minute, GOOOOOR FOR LEIPZIG: This is the old FC Bayern from the previous season, with the shaky defense that makes life difficult for themselves. A counterattack by Leipzig lands at Szoboszlai, who finds Olmo, who is 3:4. Is there anything else?
Injury time: Bayern staggers, Leipzig pushes, Munich falters - but they don't fall. Neuer gets a warning for throwing the ball away, then the final decision is made. A Leipzig free kick lands on Alphonso Davies, who clears forward - and Leroy Sané finds it. He dribbles at speed towards the opposing goal, lets the defender out, the goalkeeper out and then deliberately inserts the ball into the final score. There is no more whistle after that.
Bayern Munich's first half. The people of Leipzig can't find a way to free themselves from the pressure from Munich, who use the opportunities that are offered to them at the decisive moments. Jamal Musiala deserves special praise in the first 45 minutes. He's still only 19 years old, but performs with such composure as if he's been playing at this level for 19 years.
He played a key role in all three goals before the change of sides. First he punishes the inconsistent clarification action with the goal for the lead, then he provides the pass behind the Leipzig defensive line, where Serge Gnabry finds a lot of space in the penalty area to cross Sadio Mané, who is also completely free. Musiala prepares the 3-0 directly by playing a one-two with Thomas Müller after a corner, then dribbling on the baseline and playing from there for Benjamin Pavard. If this performance is groundbreaking for the coming season, it will give FC Bayern fans a lot of joy.
In the final phase, FC Bayern should note that the newcomers cannot yet have internalized all processes and that match practice is irreplaceable for everyone else. "We've only been in training for 19 days," said Julian Nagelsmann on the Sky microphone after the final whistle, and to be honest, the form in August isn't an indicator of whether the season is going well or not. Still, the last half hour of analysis should give some clues as to what still needs to be done. It's sometimes too wild on the defensive, and it doesn't meet Munich's claim that it's going to be as exciting again after leading 3-0 and 4-1. How exciting it was is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that Manuel Neuer felt compelled to receive a yellow card for throwing the ball away in the seventh minute of added time.
Also not so good is what Leipzig play in the first 45 minutes and what they can't catch up in the second half. FC Bayern remains the nemesis of the financially strong upstart, for the tenth time in a row the Saxons failed to win against the record champions, record cup winners and record Supercup winners. The overall balance after 15 games: one win, five draws and nine defeats at 17:33 goals.
Domenico Tedesco (Leipzig coach): "Bayern deserved to win. Especially because of the first half, where they played to their strengths. Their arrows come from everywhere: left, right, half-left lane, half-right lane, central. Crazy, really crazy. We made the switch in the second half and were closer to 4-4 than Bayern to 5-3. You could see that Bayern are the absolute favorites this season."
Julian Nagelsmann (Bayern Munich coach): "It was tight from the back. But we did very well in the first half. From the 60th minute you could see that we were running out of energy. We've only been in training for 19 days, that one thing to remember. The game was fast for a first game of the season, it wasn't a splash. But we deserved to win, there's no question about that."
