Sadio Mane opens Bayern account in German Super Cup triumph

BERLIN: Sadio Mane opened his competitive goal-scoring account for Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champions defeated Leipzig 5-3 to capture the German Super Cup for a 10th time on Saturday.

The African Player of the Year, who ended a six-year stint at Liverpool to move to Bavaria in the summer, also had two goals ruled out for offside in the game played at Leipzig’s Red Bull Arena.

“I’m really happy to win my first game and first trophy. You can’t complain. I’m really happy to be part of this great club,” said Mane.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann insisted his team deserved the victory.

“We did very well in the first half but from the 60th minute you could see that we were running out of steam,” he said.

“We’ve only been in training for 19 days, you shouldn’t forget that. We deserved to win, there’s no question about that.”

Senegalese star Mane was on target on the half-hour mark for his team’s second goal in the German season curtain-raiser.

Jamal Musiala played a perfect pass to unlock the Leipzig offside trap and release Serge Gnabry whose pass across the front of goal was tapped home by Mane.

Bayern, beginning a new era after the departure of star striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, had taken the lead after 14 minutes thanks to Musiala getting the better of Leipzig’s Hungarian goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

The impressive Musiala was at the heart of Bayern’s third goal on the stroke of halftime when the teenager’s astute pass was drilled home by French international Benjamin Pavard.

Marcel Halstenberg headed in on the hour as Leipzig cut the deficit but it only took Bayern five minutes to restore their three-goal advantage.

Thomas Mueller had a shot only half saved by Gulacsi and Gnabry was quickest to