By JUSTIN FERGUSON
After falling to their biggest rivals in the UEFA Champions League Final and the Bundesliga last season, Borussia Dortmund got a measure of revenge on Saturday by handing Pep Guardiola his first loss as Bayern Munich manager.
Marco Reus opened and closed the scoring for Dortmund, who defeated Bayern 4-2 to win the German Super Cup. Champions League Final hero Arjen Robben netted both goals for Bayern, but the defending champions, who were without first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, were unable to slow down the Dortmund attack.
Reus took advantage of an error from Tom Starke, Neuer’s replacment, to put the hosts up in the 6th minute. The ball did not find the back of either net until the 54th minute, when Robben’s first goal started a three-goal run in the span of three minutes. Dortmund quickly took a two-goal lead on a Daniel Van Buyten own goal and an Ilkay Gundogan curling shot.
Robben pulled Bayern back with another goal in the 64th minute, but the treble winners could not find the equalizer. Reus slammed the door on Bayern’s chances in the 86th minute following a pass from new teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
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NAPOLI COMPLETE HIGUAIN TRANSFER
After selling star Edinson Cavani to Paris Saint-Germain in a French record-breaking deal, Napoli have confirmed the signing of their new star attacker.
The Italian club officially announced the signing of Gonzalo Higuain on Saturday. The transfer is reportedly worth €40 million ($53 million), and Higuain is expected to sign a five-year deal with the club.
Higuain passed his medical along with loaned Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina earlier this week. The 25-year-old Argentine striker, who scored 119 goals in six seasons with Real Madrid, joins former teammates Jose Callejon and Raul Albiol at Napoli.
The sale of Higuain has created more transfer buzz around Real Madrid, who are reportedly interested in English Premier League stars Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez.
NASTASIC INJURED IN MAN CITY ASIA TROPHY VICTORY
Manchester City may have won their first trophy of the season on Saturday, but the English Premier League club is worried that it may have lost one of its bright young stars for the start of the league schedule.
Defender Matija Nastasic suffered an ankle injury during Man City’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League Asia Trophy Final. The Serbian, who made 30 appearances in his first season with the Citizens, went down in the 76th minute of the victory.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini said the club would assess the 20-year-old’s injury when they returned to England, but he refused to blame the injury on the field conditions in Hong Kong.
“It is part of the game and could have happened on any pitch,” Pellegrini said. “We are concerned but it is better to wait. He received a kick to his ankle and the doctor is seeing what it could be, but it is impossible for him to know.”
Nastasic is the second EPL player to go down with an ankle injury on the waterlogged field during the preseason tournament. Tottenham, who claimed third place Saturday with a 6-0 win over South China, lost defender Jan Vertonghen during their 3-1 loss to Sunderland earlier in the week.
AC MILAN OPENS INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS CUP WITH WIN
After a strong finish to their 2012-13 league campaign, AC Milan have kept the momentum going with a win to kick off the inaugural International Champions Cup.
In the only match of the preseason tournament to be played outside the United States, Milan defeated hosts Valencia 2-1 at the Estadio Mestalla in Spain. Robinho and Nigel De Jong both netted first half goals for the visitors, who held onto the win after Daniel Parejo’s 54th-minute strike cut their lead in half.
De Jong’s strike in the 38th minute could finish as the goal of the tournament. After receiving a pass from Kevin Prince-Boateng, the Dutch midfielder blasted an unstoppable shot into the top corner of Vicente Guaita’s net.
The tournament, which replaced the World Football Challenge, continues Wednesday when Everton faces Juventus in San Francisco. The other two opening-round matches are Chelsea-Inter Milan in Indianapolis and Real Madrid-Los Angeles Galaxy in Phoenix.
QUICK KICKS
Karim Benzema scored a 23rd-minute goal to give Real Madrid a 1-0 preaseason victory over Paris Saint-Germain in Sweden. (REPORT)
Barcelona scored seven goals in their shutout victory over Norwegian club Valerenga in Oslo. (REPORT)
Raul, the all-time leading goalscorer in Champions League history, scored twice against his current club Al Sadd in a testimonial match with former club Schalke. (REPORT)
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What do you think of this news? Impressed with Dortmund’s performance against Bayern Munich? How do you think Higuain will do at Napoli? Worried about Nastasic’s injury?
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