PSG and Borussia Dortmund Open Their Seasons With Super Cup Trophies

Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint Germain opened their respective seasons with a trophy, after winning the national Super Cup competitions. Dortmund was better than their biggest rivals, Bayern Munich, while on the other hand, the Parisians defeated Rennes.

The French champions, PSG played against Cup winners, Rennes in Shenzhen, China. Unlike the majority expected, the Saints weren’t that convincing. In fact, Tuchel’s guys were behind at the halftime and couldn’t catch their usual rhythm. Rennes used one of their several chances to reach the lead, but they simply couldn’t keep it until the end, despite having several solid opportunities. One of them was just a few seconds before the end when Eduardo Camavinga blasted the shot over the bar from some 10 yards.

PSG was better, and they conceded the goal from the only shot on goal Rennes had. But in some moments, the Saints lacked creativity, and it appears that they still create chemistry with certain players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cX7bqNGdvw

Rennes gained a lead in the 13th minute when Adrien Hunou broke the lock of the champs. Until the end of the halftime, PSG had few good attempts, but nothing changed on the court, or on the scoreboard.

As soon as the second half started, it was obvious that Tuchel woke up his team. Still, there were no goals until the 57th minute when Kylian Mbappe routinely executed from a nearby following Pablo Sarabia’s perfect pass.

That was the turning point, and a much-needed boost for the team from Paris. They started pressuring the opponent, and it was just a matter of time before they net once more. Angel Di Maria’s beautiful free-kick turned the tables and brought the advantage to PSG’s side. After that, the champs continued to attack, but couldn’t break Rennes defense once more.

With this win, PSG broke Lyon’s record of six consecutive French Super Cup trophies. The Saints won seven in a row.

On the other part of the globe, at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, the hosts Borussia avenged the late loss of the Bundesliga title by defeating the champions, Bayern. With two goals in the second 45 minutes, the Millionaires opened the season in the best possible way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEu__Q-As2Y

Though, we need to say that Bayern happened to be a better side in this clash and that Niko Kovac’s team had better and frequent chances that the boys in black and yellow. Borussia opened the match with Paco Alcacer’s chance to beat rushed Neuer from almost half of the field and had two more wasted opportunities. After that, it was more less all Bayern on the pitch in the first 45 minutes. There were many chances for them to score, but none resulted in a goal.

Alcacer beat Neuer with a nice volley from the edge of the box in the 48th minute, shocking the visitors. But the Bavarians continued to attack, and one by one, Goretzka, Coman twice, Muller missed their opportunities. Of course, the punishment arrived almost instantly, through Jadon Sancho, the English wunderkind. He finished a nice action of his team from inside the box and set the final result.

This was Dortmund’s sixth German Super Cup, while Bayern has one more, seven.