VfL Wolfsburg have won the prestigious season opener against Bayern München, winning the first title of the season. The DFB Cup winners, with World Cup winner André Schürrle in their ranks, beat the record champions 5-4 on penalties to win their first ever Supercup. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
The German record champions, with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng and Philipp Lahm all on the pitch, missed out on winning the cup for the third consecutive year and therefore missed the chance to level with Borussia Dortmund as record winners (five Supercup titles).
The ever-brilliant Arjen Robben put München in the lead three minutes into the second half, but substitute Nicklas Bendtner scored an 89th minute equaliser to take the match to a penalty shootout. Xabi Alonso was the only player to miss a penalty in the shootout, before Bendtner clinched the win with the final penalty for Wolfsburg.
“We simply cannot concede goals like that so close to the end,” said Boateng after the match. “We should have wrapped the game up long before that. That’s unfortunate and frustrating.” Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne saw the equaliser as a reward for his side’s attacking efforts towards the end of the match. “We tried everything and had a bit of luck.”
Bayern with the better start
In front of 30,000 fans in the sold out Wolfsburger Arena, the Munich side started much better and the best chance early on through Boateng. The centre back’s close-range effort crashed off the crossbar early on, as the hosts struggled initially to work find their way into the game. Too many small mistakes prevented them from creating any chances. World champion Manuel Neuer had very to do in the early stages, whilst the back four of Lahm, Boateng, Medhi Benatia and David Alaba dealt with any Wolfsburg threat with ease.
Guardiola chose not to start €35 million signing Arturo Vidal, but Brazilian Douglas Costa played on the wing from the start, as did Arjen Robben. The two played either side of Müller, who as always put in a strong performance. Robert Lewandowski led the line in attack, and Vidal was eventually brought on in the 74th minute, much to the pleasure of the Bayern fans.
Kevin de Bruyne played despite injury
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, were able to call upon Kevin de Bruyne. Despite having suffered from recent back problems and having to finish training pre-maturely on Thursday, the Footballer of the Year was in the starting XI, unlike goalkeeper Diego Benaglio who pulled out due to back pain and was replaced between the posts by Koen Casteels. Germany U21s international Maximilian Arnold played behind de Bruyne in defensive midfielder, whilst striker Max Kruse stayed on the bench until the 70th minute.
FC Bayern, who lost the last two Supercups against Borussia Dortmund, tried to penetrate through their speedy wingers Roben and Costa. Wolfsburg, who slowly grew into the game during the first half, looked to create chances through de Bruyne in the middle. The Belgian had the best chance for the hosts after he found himself in front of an open goal, but his lobbed effort trickled wide of Neuer’s goal.
Robben fires Bayern into the lead – Bendtner scores late equaliser
In a high-tempo and top-class match, Bayern were the better side at the start of the second half and finally took the lead after just a few minutes. Costa delivered a low cross, which Casteels was unable to hold on to, and Robben reacted quicker than the rest to tap it into the back of the net. Shortly after Robben’s opener, Bas Dost found himself one-one-one with the World Goalkeeper of the Year, Manuel Neuer, who stood firm to deny a Wolfsburg equaliser.
Wolfsburg took more risks as the game went on, with manager Hecking bringing on André Schürrle, Kruse and then Bendtner in the hope they might find a goal. Other than long-range efforts from Vierrinha and Schürrle, the DFB Cup winners did little to threaten Neuer’s goal. The breakthrough came after a brilliant cross from de Bruyne which Bendtner tapped in at the near post for the equaliser. Shortly afterwards, he scored the winning penalty.
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VfL Wolfsburg have won the prestigious season opener against Bayern München, winning the first title of the season. The DFB Cup winners, with World Cup winner André Schürrle in their ranks, beat the record champions 5-4 on penalties to win their first ever Supercup. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes.
The German record champions, with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng and Philipp Lahm all on the pitch, missed out on winning the cup for the third consecutive year and therefore missed the chance to level with Borussia Dortmund as record winners (five Supercup titles).
The ever-brilliant Arjen Robben put München in the lead three minutes into the second half, but substitute Nicklas Bendtner scored an 89th minute equaliser to take the match to a penalty shootout. Xabi Alonso was the only player to miss a penalty in the shootout, before Bendtner clinched the win with the final penalty for Wolfsburg.
“We simply cannot concede goals like that so close to the end,” said Boateng after the match. “We should have wrapped the game up long before that. That’s unfortunate and frustrating.” Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne saw the equaliser as a reward for his side’s attacking efforts towards the end of the match. “We tried everything and had a bit of luck.”
Bayern with the better start
In front of 30,000 fans in the sold out Wolfsburger Arena, the Munich side started much better and the best chance early on through Boateng. The centre back’s close-range effort crashed off the crossbar early on, as the hosts struggled initially to work find their way into the game. Too many small mistakes prevented them from creating any chances. World champion Manuel Neuer had very to do in the early stages, whilst the back four of Lahm, Boateng, Medhi Benatia and David Alaba dealt with any Wolfsburg threat with ease.
Guardiola chose not to start €35 million signing Arturo Vidal, but Brazilian Douglas Costa played on the wing from the start, as did Arjen Robben. The two played either side of Müller, who as always put in a strong performance. Robert Lewandowski led the line in attack, and Vidal was eventually brought on in the 74th minute, much to the pleasure of the Bayern fans.
Kevin de Bruyne played despite injury
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, were able to call upon Kevin de Bruyne. Despite having suffered from recent back problems and having to finish training pre-maturely on Thursday, the Footballer of the Year was in the starting XI, unlike goalkeeper Diego Benaglio who pulled out due to back pain and was replaced between the posts by Koen Casteels. Germany U21s international Maximilian Arnold played behind de Bruyne in defensive midfielder, whilst striker Max Kruse stayed on the bench until the 70th minute.
FC Bayern, who lost the last two Supercups against Borussia Dortmund, tried to penetrate through their speedy wingers Roben and Costa. Wolfsburg, who slowly grew into the game during the first half, looked to create chances through de Bruyne in the middle. The Belgian had the best chance for the hosts after he found himself in front of an open goal, but his lobbed effort trickled wide of Neuer’s goal.
Robben fires Bayern into the lead – Bendtner scores late equaliser
In a high-tempo and top-class match, Bayern were the better side at the start of the second half and finally took the lead after just a few minutes. Costa delivered a low cross, which Casteels was unable to hold on to, and Robben reacted quicker than the rest to tap it into the back of the net. Shortly after Robben’s opener, Bas Dost found himself one-one-one with the World Goalkeeper of the Year, Manuel Neuer, who stood firm to deny a Wolfsburg equaliser.
Wolfsburg took more risks as the game went on, with manager Hecking bringing on André Schürrle, Kruse and then Bendtner in the hope they might find a goal. Other than long-range efforts from Vierrinha and Schürrle, the DFB Cup winners did little to threaten Neuer’s goal. The breakthrough came after a brilliant cross from de Bruyne which Bendtner tapped in at the near post for the equaliser. Shortly afterwards, he scored the winning penalty.
