DFB-Pokal preview and the last minute scramble that helped Bayern pip Dortmund to lift the Supercup

Well the summer seemed to drag on longer than ever before, but finally we enter into the first competitive game on the German footballing calendar; champions Bayern taking on DFP Pokal winners Borussia Dortmund. Which would take place at the fabulous Signal Iduna Park, where the pitch was invaded by the incredible backdrop of the yellow wall. 81,000 crammed into the iconic stadium hoping for a showdown between two giants of German football.

Dortmund started the game very much in the same way they did last year, aggressive and pressing Bayern high up the pitch; they looked very much like Dortmund under Tuchel. The aggressiveness paid off as a number of silly mistakes at the back led to Pulisic picking the pocket of Javi Martinez and confidently slotting the ball into the net, putting BVB ahead 12 minutes in.

Dortmund’s high press was to their own avail as their defensive line was more often than not caught from balls over the top. Young debutant Dan Axel-Zagadou – who had been turned into makeshift left back – was exploited a number of times throughout the game, as the young man was caught high up with attacks coming from Bayern’s right-hand side. Most effectively for Bayern on 18 minutes when Joshua Kimmich got in behind Zagadou and picked out a perfect low cross for former BVB front man Robert Lewandowski to level the scores.

Time and time again Dortmund were caught with their high defensive line, but still, they didn’t learn, or even more concerning, Bosz didn’t change anything. It would be harsh to pick on Zagadou like the British punditry team did. Yes, the young lad didn’t have the best game of his career, but it wasn’t a stinker by any stretch. Truth be told, I think he and his manager learnt a lot about themselves over the 90 minutes played. This was the biggest game of this young man’s career and the sense of occasion would have been overwhelming for some. This would have been a much-needed learning curve for him at his new club. How he goes forward, we shall see hopefully in the DFB-Pokal. Hopefully, Zagadou and Bosz can work together to develop his learning of the game.

In the 2nd half things started very much as they finished, neither side lumbering up a decent chance, more so half chances and lots of scrappy play. On 71 minutes, a beautiful counter attacking move following a chance for Bayern saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang score a fantastic chip over the on rushing keeper with the outside of his boot. He had barely touched the ball during the whole game, but then in a blink of an eye, scores when the opportunity arises. He was like a shark that smells blood. Aubameyang put BVB 2-1 up and for the second time in the game, Dortmund were in the lead.

Dortmund held tight as it was looking to be their night, but 2 minutes from time, Bayern drew level, following a real scrappy melee in the box, Kimmich managed to flick the ball up and with Burki’s attempt to save it, ricocheted it onto Piszczek and it trickled into the helpless BVB net. In typical Bayern fashion, without playing all that well, somehow – just like most of last season – got the goal they needed. With the scores now level there would be no extra time, the game would go straight to penalties, in which Bayern won, following a missed penalty from Marc Bartra.

The crushing look on Bartra’s face following that miss. Of all the players that could have stepped up, it had to be him, for him to miss it was just heartbreaking. Following the events of the terrorist attack on the bus and returning from that, Barta claimed it was one of the biggest achievements of his life. You could see the despair on his face afterwards and his teammates were swiftly around him, trying to not let his head drop. If you somehow read this Marc, in the grand scheme of things a penalty miss in comparison to what you have been through is nothing. It was just a football match, keep your head held high Marc.

DFB-Pokal first round

the first round of the Pokal have some very interesting games, 1860 Vs Ingolstadt looks like it could be an interesting fixture given 1860’s destructive first few games in the lower depths of German football.

TuS Koblenz Vs Dynamo

Karlsruher Vs Bayer Leverkusen

Holstein Kiel Vs Braunschweig

Essen Vs Mönchengladbach

SV Eichede Vs 1. FC Kaiserslautern

Leher TS Vs 1. FC Köln

LSK Hansa Vs Mainz

Rielasingen Vs Dortmund

Chemnitzer FC Vs Bayern

Unterhaching Vs Heidenheim

Halberstadt Vs SC Freiburg

TuS Erndtebruck Vs Eintracht

Arminia Vs Fortuna

Erfurt Vs Hoffenheim

Jahn Regensburg Vs Darmstadt

Wurzburger Kickers Vs Werder

Saarbrücken Vs Union Berlin

Morlautern Vs Fürth

Bonner SC Vs Hannover 96

1. FC Schweinfurt Vs SV Sandhausen

Eintracht Norderstedt Vs Wolfsburg

1860 Munich Vs Ingolstadt

Nöttingen Vs VfL Bochum

Vfl Osnabruck Vs Hamburger SV

Spfr Dorfmerkingen Vs RB Leipzig

Energie Cottbus Vs VfB Stuttgart

1. FC Magdeburg Vs FC Augsburg

Wehen Wiesbaden Vs Erzgebirge

Paderborn Vs FC St. Pauli

MSV Duisburg Vs Nürnberg

BFC Dynamo Vs Schalke 04

Hansa Vs Hertha