DFL SuperCup 2013 | Recap

"But we still have the ones that count."

The first half started with both teams playing at a pace that they surely couldn't keep up for the full match, and with a rather equal share of chances.

A severe heat wave in Germany meant that there would even be water breaks halfway through each 45-minute period as a precaution against fatigue and other problems that tend to arise in conditions like those, especially when the teams aren't in mid-season shape.

Six minutes into the match, Sven Bender headed a cross into the ground and the resulting bounce took the shot across the face of Tom Starke's goal. Daniel Van Buyten attempted to make a play on the ball as well, and crossed in front of Starke, causing confusion that ended with the keeper punching the ball away instead of handling the soft shot. Marco Reus was waiting for just that, and promptly headed Dortmund into a 1-0 lead from close range.

Two minutes later, Lewandowski appeared to have put BVB up two goals to none but it was correctly called back for offsides, by a very slim margin at that.

Bayern then worked the ball up the field to Alaba who sent in a brilliant cross to Müller who along with Shaqiri released two shots directly at Roman Weidenfeller.

The rest of the half played like a see-saw with each team having their fair share of chances but with both goalkeepers on point, aside from a few more jittery moments from the veteran Starke. Dortmund took a 1-0 lead to the locker rooms.

The first notable event of the second half was Arjen Robben's push in the back of Kevin Großkreutz. Großkreutz eventually stumbled to the ground but Robben was not penalized beyond a foul.

Minutes later, Philipp Lahm sent a cross into the Dortmund box, which was full of defenders ball-watching. Robben smartly cut in behind Hummels and headed Bayern level.

In the 56th minute, Dortmund pushed in front yet again. Perhaps it wasn't the most threatening ball sent in from the left, but Daniel van Buyten felt it was necessary to clear it with his head. Unfortunately, he rivaled Robben's header in both form and result- a brilliantly taken shot that except it just so happens that it sailed into the wrong net.

Seconds later, Dortmund would catch Bayern making the same mistake BVB had minutes before. A relaxed and possibly asleep Bayern defense allowed Dortmund to work all the way down the field after the Reds lost possession after the kickoff. Ilkay Gündogan absolutely embarrassed a backtracking Thomas Müller with a shift to the right and then fired a shot from distance that beat Starke to increase the Dortmund lead to two.

Bayern would answer with another Robben goal, again assisted by Lahm. This cross was closer to the ground than the one that resulted in the first Bayern goal, but it was just as effective. Robben received it, and marked by two defenders, spun to his left and got off a shot that managed to beat Weidenfeller. An absolute masterclass from Robben gave Bayern life with the better part of thirty minutes to play.

Bastian Schweinsteiger entered to hopefully give Bayern their first holding midfield presence of the night in the 67th minute of play, designating a tactical shift that would be cemented by Dante coming on for Kroos in the 86th minute. Perhaps Pep feared the match was slipping away, and if so, his suspicions were validated when seconds after Dante entering, Marco Reus scored his second on the evening. The goal was assisted by Dortmund newcomer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyangto cap off a solid debut in a competitive atmosphere.

Bayern had as many chances as Dortmund on the night to score goals, but surrendered the bulk of the more clear ones with mistakes in positioning and blunders of the mental variety. All in all, nothing to be terribly concerned about as the match was played very close and after all, it should be stressed, doesn't count for much at all besides a trophy that only the team who wins it seems to care about.