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Borussia Dortmund made a huge statement of intent by condemning the mighty Bayern Munich to a 2-0 defeat in the 2019 DFL-Supercup.
A rollicking clash inundated with several nerve-jangling moments at both ends, Paco Alcacer opened the scoring for the hosts by brilliantly slotting past Manuel Neuer from a tight angle after great work from Sancho. Sancho was brilliant throughout the night as the 19-year-old added a second with a brilliant solo effort that put the tie to bed.
Bayern were uncharacteristically sloppy at the back and the attacking vanguard lacked any sense of poise and purpose. They were also constantly found out during the transitional phases.
For all the huff and puff, the Bavarians had no concrete answer to Dortmund's masterclass, which paved a way for their third German Supercup triumph.
Here are the hits and flops from Signal Iduna Park:
Hit: The Der Klassiker!
Oh boy, we can finally breathe now. What a game of football! Absolute bonkers from the opening whistle to the last - the Der Klassiker more than just lived up to its billing.
Both sides fought tooth and nail as if their lives were depending on it. Chances were flying in from both ends, but at the same time, some rusty final passes also left the champagne on the ice. That pretty much explains why the first-half ended goalless.
Given the intensity and aggression with which Dortmund and Bayern took each other on, we knew it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken, and the former did so just three minutes after the restart through Paco Alcacer.
The visitors weren't cowed down, and almost eked out a response in the immediate aftermath.
There was another crucial opportunity a few minutes later, but Dortmund's resolute backline denied them making the most of it. And then followed the magic of Jadon Sancho, England's hottest young prospect, and the tie was all but over.
What an incredible way to start the season, indeed!
Flop: Robert Lewandowski
The Der Klassiker is often a hunting ground for the Polish predator, who was rather the prey today of the stoic and sturdy Dortmund defence. Such was the stinker he had.
To put it bluntly - Lewandowski was virtually non-existent in the match. Constantly hounded by the robust Manuel Akanji, he could barely get even a whiff of the ball in the attacking third and was dispossessed twice in the game.
With only 27 touches on the ball - the lowest of any Bayern player and the second-lowest overall - he had little to feast on throughout the course, but when an opportunity finally reared its head - a rebound off Coman's effort - Dortmund's Swiss goalkeeper Marwin Hitz denied him from point-blank range.
Things came to a head when he went into the referee's book for a nasty challenge on the Dortmund 'keeper, and that pretty much summed up his (frustrating) evening.
The all-time top-scorer of the DFL-Supercup looked anything but.
Hit: Jadon Sancho
Last season, the 19-year-old teenager made us sit up and take notice of his precocious talent. He was the breakout star of the league with 14 assists to his name, a league-high, with another 12 goals to go with it.
Now, in the 2019/20 season opener, he's merely continued from where he left off, with another peachy keen performance.
Sancho made bunnies out of the Bayern players with his prodigious dribbling abilities, which was at its peak when he outfoxed three markers before laying off for Alcacer for the opener.
Make no mistake, Sancho wasn't everywhere, but instead picked his moments and made them count. And he later went on consolidate the Supercup with a wonderful solo goal, running the length of the Bayern half to nonchalantly finish beyond Neuer.
Pace, power, and stamina - the England youngster perfectly encapsulated his abilities here, as he looks set to play another massive role in BVB's new campaign.
Flop: Niko Kovac
The Bayern Munich manager was guilty of several tactical flaws last season and looks like he still isn't convinced what his best line-up looks like.
He set out his side in the much-maligned 4-3-3 formation once again with Muller in an unpreferred role on the right-wing that seriously negated his impact.
The midfield combination of Thiago Alcantara, Corentin Tolisso and Leon Goretzka was a disaster too as neither had any meaningful say in the match and were easily beaten by Dortmund's boisterous attackers.
Kovac could've tweaked his formation a little at half-time by bringing Muller back in the middle behind Robert Lewandowski - as that's where he's at his best normally, and replacing either Tolisso or Goretzka with the irresistible Alphonso Davies.
This not only would have liberated Muller but also seen his side create more meaningful chances for the otherwise starved-off Lewandowski to feast on.
Instead, Kovac subbed Muller after the break even with a goal down and in the desperate measure to find the equaliser, saw his side concede another goal.
Kovac is hardly a tactically astute manager, as we've so often seen last season. But his reluctance to learn might land him in hot water sooner or later.
