Bayern Munich vs. Wolfsburg: Score, Grades and Reaction from German Super Cup

Wolfsburg beat Bayern Munich 5-4 on penalties to win the 2015 German Super Cup, following a 1-1 stalemate after 90 minutes.

Arjen Robben opened the scoring shortly after the restart following an even first half, before Wolfsburg substitute Nicklas Bendtner scored in the 89th minute to force spot-kicks and notched the decisive penalty after Xabi Alonso saw his effort saved.

An entertaining contest throughout, Wolfsburg created plenty of chances against their illustrious opponents and kept fighting right to the end before snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Despite the speculation over his future, Kevin De Bruyne started for Wolfsburg in a strong team that also included Bas Dost.

New Bayern signing Arturo Vidal was forced to watch much of the game from the sidelines as he started on the bench before coming on toward the end, while fellow new transfer Douglas Costa made his competitive debut on the left wing opposite Robben.

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The Brazilian began with intent as he caused havoc down the left, but neither Robben, Robert Lewandowski nor Alonso could find a decisive touch thanks to some last-ditch defending from the Wolves.

End-to-end exchanges defined the first half as both teams hit each other on the break.

Jerome Boateng sent a curling effort onto the crossbar following a corner, before Manuel Neuer was called upon to perform his usual sweeper-keeper heroics:

The home side enjoyed a positive spell of possession and created further chances as Vieirinha flashed a shot agonisingly wide of the top corner before Ivan Perisic sent a tame shot straight into Neuer's gloves and a header wide of the post.

Costa should have been celebrating a debut goal after half an hour, but the winger inexplicably decided to return the ball to Lewandowski after the Pole squared to him in an excellent position. The Wolfsburg defence cleared Costa's pass and the chance was gone.

Bleacher Report's Peter Galindo could not fathom the decision:

Wolfsburg missed a golden opportunity of their own, though, as De Bruyne escaped the defence and nodded the ball past the oncoming Neuer, only to fire wide in front of an open goal.

BT Sport's Archie Rhind-Tutt neatly summed up the incident:

Both sides' inability to finish their chances ensured they entered half-time level at 0-0, but it only took three minutes for Bayern to break the deadlock in the second half.

Robben was the scorer, pouncing on a rebound from Costa's powerful effort:

Infostrada Sports highlighted Robben's impressive record against Wolfsburg:

The winger almost doubled his tally just minutes later, but he failed to convert Thiago Alcantara's cross as the ball bounced harmlessly off his thigh.

Wolfsburg responded with a shot from Dost, but the strike was directed straight at Neuer.

As the half wore on, the game saw a number of strong challenges fly in on both sides.

Vidal's introduction to the match did little to change that, as Bleacher Report's Stefan Bienkowksi pointed out:

As the match seemingly headed toward an inevitable conclusion and Bayern victory, Bendtner popped up from the bench to fire home De Bruyne's low cross in the 89th minute.

Social media was suitably set alight by the Dane's goal:

Bendtner's equaliser forced the game to penalties, and all but one player netted theirs comfortably in a high-quality shootout.

Alonso was the only player not to score, as Wolfsburg 'keeper Koen Casteels made the decisive save with his leg.

With the score evenly poised at 4-4, Bendtner drove social media wild yet again by blasting the final spot-kick into the top corner.

After leading the match for so long, Bayern will be disappointed to have not closed out the game, but they otherwise looked in good shape ahead of the new season.

For Wolfsburg, the win can mark the start of another successful campaign.