“It’s about the first title,” said an excited Julian Nagelsmann at his press conference on Monday ahead of facing Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup. Bayern are aiming to secure the first silverware of the season on Tuesday evening (kick-off 20:30 CEST, live coverage on fcbayern.com with our text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know about the game in Dortmund.
Check out the photos from Bayern’s final training session before departing for Dortmund:
Situation for Bayern
FCB aren’t only the reigning Bundesliga champions but also go to Dortmund looking to defend their Supercup title. Bayern won it last year – also against BVB – thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s late goal in the 3-2 win in Munich. They now want to repeat the feat away from home. Nagelsmann has made his findings from the 1-1 draw away at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the opening Bundesliga game and is now focussing attentions on the Supercup. “It’s an important game against an opponent who’s started the season very well. It’d be really nice to win a first title with a first win,” the 34-year-old said. It would be a first trophy personally for him in senior football.
The two teams will observe a minute’s silence at the Supercup to mark the death of Gerd Müller:
The opponents
Borussia booked their place in this year’s Supercup by beating RB Leipzig and Nagelsmann 4-1 to win the DFB Cup. BVB also kicked off this league season with a 5-2 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. Even under new coach Marco Rose, they are still showing their quick, attacking style of football. “The situations where they change tempo are the greatest danger,” Nagelsmann warned. As well as their opening league game, Dortmund also won in the first round of the cup at Wehen Wiesbaden (3-0) and are looking to add a Supercup triumph to their list. “When you come here and know the history of the club, they you want to work to play for titles – that’s why I’m here. We’ll fight for this title,” Rose stressed.
Player update
Lucas Hernandez is making progress in his rehabilitation but isn’t an option for the Supercup.
Nagelsmann has almost the same squad he had for the Gladbach game, but Corentin Tolisso has now returned and made the trip to Dortmund. “He trained with the reserves at the weekend and did outstandingly well. He’s physically good. He also left a good impression in the two sessions with us,” said a happy FCB coach. Benjamin Pavard (ankle), Marc Roca (ankle) and Lucas Hernandez (recovery from a knee operation) are still sidelined. However, the latter did train again with the ball on Monday.
Dortmund are without the injured Thorgan Hazard, Mats Hummels, Emre Can and Raphael Guerreiro.
What the coaches say
Julian Nagelsmann: “Dortmund have outstanding footballers and a good habit of getting a lot of them into the final third. What they do exceptionally well are their upturns of tempo when winning the ball. When they run at the backline with speed, it’s tough to defend. So, we’d do well to keep them away from dangerous situations as much as possible.”
Marco Rose (Borussia Dortmund head coach): “When you’re testing yourself, you should try to win. There’s a title to be won, it’s a prestige fixture against Bayern Munich.”
Here’s 5 facts and figures on the Supercup:
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