RB Leipzig 3-5 Bayern Munich
The DFL Supercup has long been a competition which has entertained.
And if the 2022 version is a barometer for the new season, then football fans who love excitement are in for an absolute treat for this was a thriller.
A clash of experience versus fresh faces in the competition.
Seven-time DFL Supercup winners Bayern, who last season laid down an early marker in the showpiece with a 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, against competition debutants RB Leipzig.
So, would this be an indicator of things to come between the defending champions and the Cup holders who will be hoping to challenge the Bavarians for the title in 2022/23?
Highlights of the game
Well, certainly it was pretty good as a delectable starter with Leipzig, who finally secured the trophy following bitter disappointment 12 months earlier, up against opponents beginning life without Robert Lewandowski.
It was also a first glimpse of what Sadio Mane will bring to the Bavarians.
It was a pretty good answer too as the champions raced into a 3-0 interval lead they never looked like relinquishing.
On an evening in which new recruits Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch all made their competitive Bayern debuts, Julian Nagelsmann successfully defended Bayern’s Supercup title against the club where he spent two seasons at the helm between 2019 and 2021.
The DFL Supercup 2022 highlights didn’t take long to arrive and, just before the quarter of an hour mark, Jamal Musiala produced a smart finish to open the scoring following a corner.
Christopher Nkunku, last season’s Bundesliga Player of the Season following a campaign in which he netted 20 goals and 13 assists in the Bundesliga, had the ball in the net from the restart, only to be denied by an offside flag and Bayern took full advantage of the decision as Musiala combined with Serge Gnabry to set up Mane for a routine close-range strike.
On the stroke of half-time, the contest was all but over as Benjamin Pavard took advantage of uncertainty to finish from another Musiala ball.
With Lewandowski departed, it will be interesting to see if Gnabry can benefit by slotting into a more advanced position, a switch which could potentially prove very decisive with the likes of Thomas Müller, Kingsley Coman, Mane and Leroy Sane among the attacking options.
While Bayern have been busy in the market, Leipzig are largely unchanged from last season and manager Domenico Tedesco didn’t use new acquisition from Wolfsburg, midfielder Xaver Schlager, from the bench in this one.
He did, however, play Marcel Halstenberg, deputising for defender Josko Gvardiol, and the Red Bull Arena finally had something to cheer just before the hour when Halstenberg met an Nkunku corner and looped a header beyond the reach of Manuel Neuer.
Bayern responded like champions as Gnabry reacted quickly after Peter Gulacsi had pushed away a Thomas Müller cross.
Leipzig pulled another goal back with a powerful Nkunku penalty, awarded after a foul by Pavard, and when the impressive Dani Olmo struck again a minute from time, there was an outside chance of a shock comeback.
No matter. Sane merely embarked on a cool run and finish in stoppage time to seal the silverware and extend their fine record in this fixture.
Bayern beat Leipzig home and away in 2021/22 on their way to a record-extending 10th successive Bundesliga title and are firm favourites again with the SBOTOP DFL SuperCup 2022 betting odds.
Key statistics
Leipzig have won just one of 15 competitive meetings with Bayern (drawn four, lost 10).
Musiala, 19, has 16 goals and eight assists in 79 competitive appearances for Bayern.
Nkunku has three goals in seven appearances against the champions but is yet to be involved in a win (drawn three, lost four).
What’s next?
It all gets underway next Sunday (August 7) with Leipzig travelling to VfB Stuttgart, two days after Bayern kick off the new Bundesliga season with a trip to Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt.
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