Journalism of Courage
Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich 4-2 to win the German Sup Cup on Saturday,handing Pep Guardiola his first defeat in charge of the European Champions. Marco Reus scored twice in what was a rematch of the Champions League final between the sides,opening the scoring in the sixth minute and wrapping up the victory four minutes from time.
We8217;re delighted, said Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller. We won the Super Cup,especially against such a good team.
Robben scored again at the other end in the 64th,but offseason signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang set up Reus to decide the first title of the season in the 86th,though replays showed the winger was marginally offside.
The game was simply brilliant, said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp. To have won it is just awesome.
streak ends
The loss ended Guardiola8217;s perfect start at Bayern after taking over from Jupp Heynckes,who led the Bavarian side to an unprecedented treble last season. Bayern had scored 61 goals and conceded just three in Guardiola8217;s nine friendly games in charge. I don8217;t have the feeling that they played much better than us, said Guardiola,who will have to wait a bit longer for his first title with Bayern. As Barcelona coach,he had taken 14 of the 19 titles on offer during four years in charge.
It8217;s football. It can happen, Guardiola said. We played well,we did things right. We played against a strong team,who played the Champions League final. But I8217;m honored for my players. It8217;s a good lesson for us. After one month,I am very happy with our performance.
Bayern8217;s defense was to blame for the home side8217;s opening goal when it failed to deal with Sven Bender8217;s header and reserve goalkeeper Tom Starke could only parry the ball away,allowing Reus to score with a header. Robert Lewandowski,a transfer target for Bayern,had a goal ruled offside shortly afterward,and later shot straight at Starke from close range. Xherdan Shaqiri,playing in place of the injured Franck Ribery,was twice denied by good saves from Roman Weidenfeller,while Mario Mandzukic came agonizingly close to converting a dangerous cross whipped in by David Alaba as Bayern sought a response. But Dortmund finished the half strongly,with Gundogan drawing a save from Starke and having another effort deflected wide by Jerome Boateng,who berated teammate Van Buyten after another mix-up almost allowed Lewandowski through.
Out of luck
Robben was booed with every touch of the ball,as the home fans remembered his late winner against their side in the Champions League final,and he answered by meeting Lahm8217;s cross to equalize. Dortmund bounced right back through the unfortunate Van Buyten8217;s interception and though Robben claimed his second to keep the tie in doubt after Gundogan8217;s exquisite strike,the visitors8217; luck ran out when Thomas Mueller8217;s late effort struck the crossbar.
We wanted to win and it didn8217;t work out, said Bayern captain Philipp Lahm. It can happen. They scored four goals and we two.
