Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on penalties

Bayern Munich grabbed their first major trophy of the 2017-18 season on Saturday, beating Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup after a penalty shootout. The match finished 22 in regulation time, and the spot-kicks finished 5-4.

Christian Pulisic gave BVB an early lead, but Robert Lewandowski tied things up shortly after. The second half was a close affair until PierreEmerick Aubameyang finished a great counter-attack to restore the lead.

The hosts seemed destined to win in regulation time until Joshua Kimmich steered the ball into the net via Lukasz Piszczek. In penalties, Kimmich and Sebastian Rode missed to leave things tied at 3-3 after the fourth round, and Marc Bartra missed the decisive penalty, with Sven Ulreich making his second save.

The hosts came out with an exotic back three, an indication BVB would treat the Super Cup as another pre-season friendly and not a major trophy. Despite that, Dortmund did well early, and Nuri Sahin fired the first chance wide of the post.

A dreadful blunder by Javi Martinez handed Pulisic the opener on a plate after just 12 minutes, and while the youngster produced a fine finish, Bleacher Report's Lars Pollmann laid the blame with the defence.

The goal seemed to wake the visitors up, and Franck Ribery put Roman Burki to work with a sharp drive minutes after the opener. With just 18 minutes gone, Lewandowski pulled his side level, with the video assistant referee judging Kimmich onside in the buildup.

Per WhoScored.com, the Poland international picked up right where he left off last season.

Bayern took the upper hand after the equaliser, and Thomas Muller twice went close. First, Burki made a fine save to deny the German, then the post got in the way to keep his fine header from crossing the goal line.

Corentin Tolisso headed the final big chance of the half wide, and with Bayern on the front foot, the two teams headed for the dressing rooms.

Pollmann noted BVB made an odd decision at half-time.

Martinez came off the pitch with what appeared to be a knock at the hour mark, giving Niklas Sule the chance to make an impact off the bench.

Gonzalo Castro nearly teed up Ousmane Dembele perfectly, as the Frenchman came within inches of reclaiming the lead for his team. On the other side of the pitch, Tolisso couldn't lift a chip over the head of Burki.

With 20 minutes left, Dembele beautifully isolated Aubameyang in front of goal, and the Gabon international cleverly dinked the ball over Ulreich to give his team the lead.

Bet365 noted it all started on the other side of the pitch, once again highlighting BVB's raw pace.

Arturo Vidal nearly hit back with a diving header but found the side netting. Kimmich had more luck, however, with minutes to spare. A mad scramble followed after Sule hit the bar, and in the confusion, Kimmich reacted best, with the ball going in off Piszczek.

Replays suggested the goal shouldn't have stood, but even after the VAR was consulted, the official did not give a foul in the buildup. Sportswriter Clark Whitney did not approve.

Penalties had to decide a winner, and after Kimmich and Rode missed, the two teams reached the sudden-death portion of the proceedings. Vidal and Castro made it 4-4, and after Sule converted, Ulreich picked the right side to deny Bartra, leading Bayern to their first trophy of the season.

Technical fault spoils Germany’s 1st use of video assistance

German football's first competitive use of video assistance failed due to a technical fault Saturday when a debatable goal was awarded in the Supercup between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

Robert Lewandowski scored for Bayern to level the game 1-1 but the goal may have been offside following Sebastian Rudy's ball over the Dortmund defense. Referee Felix Zwayer consulted video official Tobias Stieler, who had to make a decision without all the technical tools he should have had at his disposal.

"The calibrated lines, which are normally available and support the video assistant in offside decisions, were not yet available due to technical problems," the German football league and federation said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The goal was awarded. The game ended 2-2 after normal time and Bayern won 5-4 on penalties.

"What's positive is that the decision (to award the goal) was correct. That's the top priority and that was achieved," former referee Hellmut Krug told news agency dpa.

Krug, who is now working with the video assistance team, added, "But in this case you have to admit that we were lucky at this time, that the decision could be confirmed."

The league has until Aug. 18 to iron out the issues before the season begins.

"It's better that it happens now and not in two weeks for the start of the Bundesliga," league spokesman Michael Novak said.

Video assistance was also at the center of a questionable decision in the Dutch Super Cup between Feyenoord and Vitesse.

Rather than award what should have been a penalty to Vitesse, the referee allowed play to continue for Feyenoord to increase its lead to 2-0 on a counterattack.

However, the referee then consulted his video assistant, the goal was ruled out, and Vitesse equalized from the subsequent penalty.

The match finished 1-1 and Feyenoord went on to win on penalties.