Mane off to flier as Bayern bags Super Cup

Sadio Mane opened his competitive scoring account for Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champion defeated RB 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 this 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's 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 its three-goal advantage.

Thomas Mueller had a shot only partially saved by Gulacsi and Gnabry was quickest to react to the loose ball to make it 4-1.

Another new signing, Ryan Gravenberch, who arrived from Ajax, came on to replace Mueller for Bayern before Mane had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside.

In an end-to-end second half, Leipzig grabbed its second goal of the evening courtesy of a Christopher Nkunku penalty after Dani Olmo had been brought down in the area.

As the clock ticked down, Bayern brought on another new signing in Dutch centerback Matthijs de Ligt, who has arrived from Juventus for 67 million euros ($68.2 million).

With six minutes left, Mane had a second goal ruled out for offside, before Olmo pulled another goal back for Leipzig in the 89th minute after a quick breakaway.

Bayern then had to survive a few nervy moments as Leipzig pushed for a fourth but Leroy Sane wrapped up victory with his team's fifth goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

Bayern will begin the defense of its Bundesliga title away to Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday.

Lewan hits out

Meanwhile, Lewandowski has criticized Bayern over its handling of his move to Barcelona.

Speaking to ESPN during Barca's US preseason tour over the weekend, the Pole was asked about reports that his desire to leave Bayern was based on the club's rumored pursuit of striker Erling Haaland, who ultimately joined Manchester City.

"If the question is if the decision to move was because of him, no, I didn't see the problem if he joined Bayern Munich," Lewandowski said. "But some kind of people doesn't say to me the truth, say something different. And for me it was always important to be clear, to stay true, and maybe for a few people that was the problem."

The 33-year-old joined Barca this summer to end an eight-year stint in Bavaria, and he admitted it was a difficult period.

"I had a very good relationship with my teammates, with the staff, with the coach, and these are all things I'm going to miss because I spent a beautiful time there,"Lewandowski added.

"And we were not only friends from the pitch but also something more. But in the end this chapter is over and I open a new chapter in my life and a new chapter in my career.

"So I feel that I'm in the right position, right place. So everything that's happened in the last maybe few weeks before I left Bayern Munich, that was also of course a lot of politics.

"The club tried to find an argument why they can sell me to another club because before it was difficult to explain maybe to the fans. And I had to accept that, even though it was not true."

Agencies