Why victory in Dortmund is the perfect start to the season for Bayern

A shower of confetti, the team celebrating with the trophy in the centre circle, “We Are The Champions” blaring from the stadium loudspeakers, jubilant Bayern fans in the away section, and right in the middle of it all, of course, the now iconic mascot, the porcelain cockatoo. The scenes from the stadium in Dortmund on Saturday evening spoke for themselves. The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup was returning to Munich after Bayern kicked off the new season with a bang and their first title.

Statement in season’s opening game

Bayern had just secured a 2-1 victory in their first competitive match of the season in front of over 80,000 away at Borussia Dortmund – 2025/26’s Bundesliga runners-up by 16 points – and won their 140th clash with their long-standing rivals. A triumph that sends a clear message, both in sporting and emotional terms. “We’re starting again from scratch to a certain extent. We have high ambitions and now is the time for us to get back into the mix. But we’ll have to work hard to achieve all of that,” board member for sport Max Eberl had said ahead of the big game. Head coach Vincent Kompany had also emphasised the significance of Saturday evening: “I don’t think there’s anything better than winning a title away in Dortmund. But the quality and strength of this Dortmund side are high, so it’ll be difficult.” The team’s response was impressive.

In terms of personnel, Bayern were without Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Lennart Karl for the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup. Kompany used this to his advantage with a tactical surprise as new signing Nathaniel Brown took up the playmaker role. It was clear from the outset that Bayern intended to start the season with their usual confidence, tried-and-tested dominance and a fresh zest for the game. Dortmund allowed the visitors to have the ball, sat deep and lay in wait for quick counter-attacks, whilst the Munich side controlled the game with precise passing. By the 20-minute mark, a clear picture had already emerged.

The first major reward for their overwhelming dominance followed when Michael Olise took down a diagonal ball, kept his cool and played the ball into the box, where Brown controlled it before slotting his shot low into the near corner to make it 1-0 to Bayern. The new playmaker had not only broken down Dortmund’s defensive block but also found his own form. “I personally didn’t make the best start to the game. The goal helped me a bit, and now I’m really happy. When you score a goal, you’re kind of in a tunnel. It’s just feelings of happiness,” the delighted debutant declared.

Dortmund wobble but not down

The goal marked the start of a spell in which BVB looked like a battered boxer: wobbling, staggering, but not yet down. Luis Díaz forced Gregor Kobel into a superb save with a curling shot, whilst in the centre Aleksandar Pavlović dictated the play, racking up over 60 touches after just 38 minutes. Bayern were finding their stride. The machine was running impressively smoothly.

Up to that point, Dortmund had only really threatened once, when Ramy Bensebaini headed a cross into the Bayern goal, but was offside. Yet FCB still had time for one more strike in stoppage time, as Bayern’s high press forced a costly BVB misplaced pass. Olise switched on in a flash and slotted the ball into the far corner for 2-0. The France international had made his mark on his return with a goal and assist in 45 minutes.

At half-time, the statistics spoke volumes about the balance of power. Bayern led 11-1 on shots (6-0 on target), had 69 percent possession and won 59 percent of challenges. They displayed remarkable dominance, reminiscent of the big matches from last season – combined with a palpable enjoyment of Kompany’s brand of attacking football. “It was a very good first half. We also showed a lot of determination in the second half. You saw the heart and character of the team. The most important thing is the mentality, and that was spot on,” said the coach.

After the break, however, the picture changed. Dortmund were more proactive and found their way into the game. In his 45th competitive match against Dortmund, Manuel Neuer suddenly had to show all his class to save a low shot from Konstantinos Karetsas. “The win definitely feels good,” said the Bayern captain happily afterwards. “The whole Bundesliga looks at what the champions do against the cup winners. We ended up as double winners so played against the second-best team in Germany. It was another hard fight and we had to give our all to win this game. But I think the better team won today.”

From 30 to 61% possession

BVB made early and frequent substitutions, began to win the ball back in the Munich penalty area and turned the tide of possession, going from just 31 percent before the break to just under 60 percent at times in the second half. Nevertheless, Bayern held firm, though they missed several chances to score the decisive third goal. “So it remained at 2-0 despite our dominance. That’s always a dangerous result, because things can get tight again. That’s what then happened,” explained Harry Kane.

All the more so when, following a misplaced pass after 75 minutes, the ball landed in the penalty area at the feet of Fábio Silva, who slotted home to make it 2-1. The match had now turned into a thrilling back-and-forth affair after all. In the 81st minute, Ismael Saibari made his competitive debut in a Bayern shirt and was involved as BVB made life even harder for themselves when Bensebaini was shown a red card for a hard challenge on the Morocco international.

This Supercup Klassiker still needed that one very last nail-biting moment, though, as Maximilian Beier suddenly found himself one-on-one with Neuer in added time. Jonathan Tah did just enough to put the Dortmund man off at the crucial moment as he fired over the bar.

Kompany summed it up clearly: “Winning a title in Dortmund is certainly a perfect start to the season. Our attitude was spot on today. We want to keep scoring goals and winning titles.” With celebrating fans behind them, a shower of confetti, the trophy and, of course, the Cockatoo at the heart of it all.

Get more reaction from the Supercup in Dortmund here: