The Super Cup is the traditional curtain-raiser of the domestic campaign in Germany. On Saturday night the Bundesliga’s big two Dortmund and Bayern Munich contested the trophy at the Signal Iduna Park, with BVB coming out 2-0 winners.
The game between the two title rivals was played a good pace and certainly did not lack intensity, with some seriously meaty challenges flying in. Dortmund was more clinical in front of goal in the end. One man who played a big part in the win was England starlet Jadon Sancho.
Proved influential again for Dortmund
You could be forgiven for missing Sancho in the first period of the game. He endured a quiet first half and hardly saw the ball. His biggest contribution to the game in the first half was giving the ball away on a couple of occasions. He did not have a great second period. However, as top players do, he made an impact despite not having a great game. First, he produced a good run and pass for Paco Alcacer to fire home the opening goal.
His biggest contribution pf the game was no doubt the second goal, when he produced a sensational solo run, before smashing an effort past the helpless Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal. In a blink of an eye, he had won Dortmund the game. There is no doubting that BVB fans will not care that Sancho was not at his best if he continues to make vital contributions to the team.
Another big season for Sancho
Last season saw the young winger make a real breakthrough into not just the BVB team, but also into the England team too. The 19-year-old now needs to maintain his form from last season and push on. This season will be a big one for the youngster. There will be more expectation on the winger to deliver and also develop into an even better player. The youngster has seemingly taken his rise in the last 12 months in his stride.
He seems a confident and mature lad. His decision to move to Dortmund at such a young age shows his maturity. Many other youngsters would have just stayed in England and played bit parts in the Premier League or went on loan to lower league clubs.
Sancho is a bit of a pioneer. Now young British players are not frightened of moving to the Bundesliga. Sancho has shown what can be achieved by playing and developing in the German top-flight.
Dortmund a real threat to Bayern this season
The race for the Bundesliga was fascinating last year. For the first time in a long while, it was not just a Bayern procession. In fact, at one point Lucien Favre’s BVB led the Bavarians by a massive nine points. However, towards the end of the campaign, a poor run of form saw Bayern storm to their seventh straight title.
The reigning champions kick-off the new season as favourites to win the Bundesliga once more. Favre’s team should be a real threat to Bayern dominating the Germany top-flight in the new season, with Sancho likely to be a key part of their title challenge.
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