Bayern Munich 2-1 Sevilla: UEFA Super Cup final 2020
Bayern Munich vs Sevilla: Super Cup 2020
Unstoppable Bayern complete quadruple
Match report: Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 after extra time on Thursday to lift the UEFA Super Cup and complete a quadruple under coach Hansi Flick, in the first European game played with some fans in the stands since the sport returned amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Substitute Javi Martinez headed in the winner in the 104th minute after Europa League winners Sevilla had taken a 13th-minute lead through Lucas Ocampos's penalty and Bayern levelled through Leon Goretzka in the 34th. The Bavarians, unbeaten now in 32 consecutive matches and winners of the domestic double as well as the Champions League, missed more than half a dozen clear scoring chances.
Yet it was Bayern keeper Neuer who kept them in the game when he twice denied Youssef En-Nesyri with superb saves before Martinez benefited from being given too much space to head in on the rebound. Some 15,000 fans were seated in Budapest's Puskas Arena with the game seen as a test event for the gradual return of fans to European games.
Final throw of the dice - from an actual throw - for Sevilla.
Bono sprints up to join in but it's in vain as Bayern knock the ball away and the referee end the game
Sevilla desperate to get the ball forward but Bayern are doing enough to keep the ball away from them.
Escudero the latest to have his name taken by the English ref
Lewandowski is caught offside and then is quick to get himself involved again, this time trying to catch Bono out from long range. Too high
Alaba is off as Flick throws on the blue-haired Boateng for the final stages
Kimmich plops it into the mixer once again and Bono comes out to punch amid the crowd. Eventually it's cleared completely
The much-praised Alphonso Davies messed up a dribble in the left channel but his frustration was tempered with a fortunate bounce of the defender. Corner
Muller now fashions a chance out of very little, taking a high cross over his head and almost hooking it into the bottom corner.
That would have taken Bono, and the rest of us watching, by surprise had it ended up in the net
Half-chance for Escudero who tries to volley a deep cross first time. Not his finest effort.
A quick drink and we're off again. Can Sevilla take this to penalties?
The whistle blows for the end of the first period
Sule almost gets another. A clean strike from the right of goal appears to have Bono beaten but a defensive header keeps it out.
Tolisso finds himself inside the Sevilla area with space to shoot. His effort is sneaking in at the near post but again Bono is down quickly to save.
CHANCE!! Kimmich goes close for the Bavarians but miscues and the balls disappears for a goal kick.
Two changes for Flick:
Goretzka and Hernandez off, Davies and Martinez on
Newly-introduced Vázquez looks up in midfield and dinks a ball over the defence for En Nasyri to run onto. The ball bounces in front of the striker and skips away nicely, allowing the Bayern defence to collect and clear
Jordan off Vázquez on for Lopetegui
Alaba has a chance to work Bono from another dead-ball situation but skies it again. Maybe someone else will get the next one.
CLANG!! En Nesyri is free, cuts inside Alaba and shoots low at the near post.
I'm not sure how much Neuer knew about it but his body position is enough to deflect the effort onto the upright and then he wins the race to clear it.
Great start for the LaLiga side
The first chance falls to Sevilla and they win a corner. Nothing comes of it.
Extra-time is go!
Semra's enjoying this defensive performance from Lopetegui's side.
And if they can keep it tight at the back, they have shown they will get a chance or two at the other end.
Peeep!! The whistle goes and extra time awaits.
Bayern knocking at the door as time runs out
Hernandez into the book for a foul
We've got four more minutes to find a goal...or another 30 after that!
SAVE!!!! And what a save.
An error from a Bayern corner allows Navas to break clear. As the counter becomes two on two he releases En Nesyri perfectly and the striker's effort is excellently pushed wide from Neuer. Class.
Dangerous corner sent in from Kimmich but Bono does well to deal with it
Bono quick there to get out and collect a Lewandowski ball in. Bayern are the more threatening here but I can see Sevilla finding a way to nick the win
Neuer decides he wants to get more action and comes out of his area to deal with a high ball forward.
In volleying it away (decent skills) he almost takes out his backtracking teammate.
SAVE!! Tremendous save low in the corner from Bono to not only block but hold a powerful Muller strike from distance
CLOSE!! Gnabry gets in close and almost turns the rapid cross home. Excellent defending prevents it at the expense of a corner.
The big defender Sule gets his head on a cross at the back post and tries to direct it back across into the far side. There are enough white shirts to stop it reaching the net.
Bayern pressing once again
Bayern change: Sané off for Tolisso
Sevilla change: Suso off for Gudelj
Sané breaks at pace on the counter and he has support. Just as the danger becomes clear, Fernando decides it's not worth the risk and takes the former Man City man out.
A rare period of control for Sevilla. Knocking the ball around like the chilled out Andalusians they are. Not for long though...
Alaba has a chance to hit a dead ball from not too far outside the Sevilla area. He take a couple of puffs, steps up and... it's well over Bono's crossbar
Bayern have the ball in the Sevilla net but there was a clear foul in the build up
The ball is worked into Gnabry who takes it in his stride and fires off a nice effort. Deflection saves Bono, but corner conceded.
Bayern have a free-kick on the left of the opposition area after Navas slid in late. (Note: Navas is impressively still holding his own at the top level)
CHANCE!! Sané gets into position inside Bono's penalty box and carefully guides a strike towards the far post. It's blocked but the reaction from the new boy suggests he knows it was going in.
Sevilla switch the play diagonally looking for the scampering Suso on the right. The former Liverpool and Milan midfielder isn't able to stop the ball running out of play.
En Nesyri on for De Jong AND Torres on for Rakitic
Sevilla's Kounde into the book for a dangerous challenge and Lopetegui getting ready to make some changes.
GOAL!! Lewandowski finishes off a very neat move to give Bayern the le... wait a minute. VAR wants a look.
Lovely play from Gnabry on the left of the Sevilla goal. Jinking in and out, his low cross is then blocked.
'Watch that line lads!' Lopetegui must be saying. The offside is up twice in quick succession for Suso and Jordan.
CHANCE!! What a start from Sevilla.
De Jong is found with a delicious cross from the left and squashed between two defenders he gets a first-time effort away, which Neuer pushes away for a corner.
We're off for the second half.
OK. The teams are back out...
As expected the Champions League winners have had more possession (62%) in that first half.
The Germans also dominated the shots count (7-1)
Keeping their distance
Peeeeep! That's half-time
Grab a little refreshment and I'll see you back for the second half.
There's still time for Jordan to get his name in the referee's little book. Silly foul from the LaLiga player
We'll have a minimum of two minutes added time
Sule almost hands Sevilla a golden chance in the final minute, miss-kicking a clearance. The Bayern defender gets lucky with the ricochet and boots it away at the second attempt.
Suso attempts to find De Jong in the area, and then as Bayern break a Pavard cross is almost latched onto by the stretching number nine, the Polish striker just unable to bring it under control.
Chances for both sides to create something lead to nothing as the game immediately has a sense of balance once again.
Sevilla know they'd be better off trying their luck rather than soaking up the pressure.
No sooner had the Bundesliga giants got their deserved equaliser than it seemed Sevilla were back in front.
A De Jong run from deep had him one-on-one with Neuer and he finished superbly. Flag was up for offside and replays show it was correct.
A rare break for Sevilla has De Jong again involved in the final third but can't fashion a decent chance.
CHANCE!! Lewandowski has the best opportunity for his side so far.
Set free behind the Sevillian defenders he tries to chip the ball delicately over the rushing Bono. The big Pole just can't get enough elevation in it and it's saved.
A goal is surely not far away.
A chance here for Sané but his effort is blocked by the hard-working defence.
Stoppage in play as Fernando is injured. Physio on to sort him out.
ANOTHER CHANCE!! Pavard is slid in on the inside right of Bono's area but his drive flies wide of the goal.
Pressure is building...
Celebrations
CHANCE!! Muller finds himself in front of goal as the bal comes in low from the right. We've seen him slot them home many times from there but this time its deflected just wide.
Bayern pushing for an equaliser.
Lewandowski (quiet thus far) was almost in there. Offside flag stops any thoughts of further joy.
Bayern had started the game at a good pace and are looking to pick that up again after a shock start. It's Sevilla's De Jong though that has a couple of chances to find his teammates, but fails on both occasions.
Some of the Andalusian fans forgot about the social distancing rules there as they celebrated.
Alaba into the book for that foul
A cross from Navas on the right is headed down from the back post and De Jong is barged into. Anthony Taylor points to the spot.
PENALTY TO SEVILLA!
Some neat play in the middle of the park from Bayern suggests something is in the offing but then a loose pass kills any ideas.
The ball is delivered into crowded Bayern area by Suso but it's not accurate enough to cause the defence any difficulties. Cleared away with ease.
Chance for the Spanish side to put on some pressure. Ocampos attempts to get away but he's met with a red wall. Free kick to Sevilla mid-way in the German's half.
Goretzka now fires a ball into the area but it's well headed clear. Bayern with the early pressure, and at a good tempo.
Alaba goes long with a pass to immediately get the Sevilla side on the back foot but it's then Gnabry who has a chance. Bono does well to kill off the danger.
We're off!
Almost game time
The teams are out on the pitch and must be loving seeing and hearing some real cheers from the stands.
Let's hope that those masked supporters, and us, are treated to a great game.
Socially distanced crowd
The fans are in their places in the stadium and there is definitely a good amount of space between the different small groups.
Sevilla's European pedigree to face the Bayern Munich test
Sevilla's European pedigree to face the Bayern Munich test
'Bayern Munich are verging on unstoppable and sow terror into their opponents with the habit they have acquired of scoring goals by the bucketload...
'But Sevilla are a side who are able to bring intensity to a game, in attack as well as defence, and lest we kid ourselves they really have nothing to lose."
Alfredo Relaño previewed tonight's game...
Eyeing the trophy
It may not be held in the same esteem as the two trophies that are required to get here, but it's always nice to have some extra silverware in the club cabinet.
Bayern Munich vs Sevilla: How and where to watch - times, tv, online
How to watch the Super Cup where you live
Clearly you'll be staying with me for the next couple of hours, but if you're wondering how to complement this feed with some new-fangled, televisual instruments, here's a handy guide...
Sevilla XI
Bono, Jesus Navas, Carlos, Kounde, Escudero, Fernando, Jordan, Rakitic, Ocampos, Suso, de Jong
Bayern Munich XI
Neuer, Süle, Pavard, Kimmich, Alaba, Goretzka, Hernandez, Müller, Sane, Gnabry, Lewandoski
Let's talk about SIX plus SIX
A nice little ditty about tonight's game is that both Bayern and Sevilla clinched their place in this showpiece by collecting their sixth title respectively.
The Germans win over PSG saw them go joint third with Liverpool in the list of European Cup winners (Milan and Real Madrid ahead).
The team from Andalusia leads the way in the second UEFA competition, winning three more than any other club.
Sevilla colour switch
The Spanish side are also famous for red in their shirts - along with the very important white stripes - but as the nominated 'away' team, they will be in a changed kit.
Their social media team have provided a nice little video checking out the stadium.
Bayern REDy
Those famous red shirts are all neatly hung for the chosen ones to slip on in a short while. We'll bring you the XI as soon as its anounced.
Fans allowed
Before we begin digging into the teams on show tonight, the big news is that there will be supporters in the ground tonight, something we've not seen for some time.
UEFA announced its decision to allow a reduced number of fans into the Puskás Aréna last month, limiting attendance to around a quarter of the stadium’s 60,000 capacity to ensure the maintenance of social distance regulations.
“We are working closely with the Hungarian Football Federation and its government to implement measures to ensure the health of all those attending and participating in the game,” said UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, “We will not take risks with people’s safety.”
UEFA Champions clash
Unless you are extremely new to this, you’ll know that the UEFA Super Cup is contested between the winner of the Champions League and the Europa League.
This season that pits Bayern Munich against Sevilla and the game kicks off at 21:00 CEST in the Puskás Aréna, Budapest in Hungary.
Super Cup welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the UEFA Super Cup 2020.
It’s been an exceptional year, as the coronavirus pandemic put all football on hold, but we managed to get through most of the major leagues and completed the two European competitions, albeit in a different format.
By doing so, we arrive at tonight’s game and we will be building up to it before bringing you all the action live.