Bayern Munich: Carlo Ancelotti Succeeds Where Pep Guardiola Failed in Supercup

Bayern Munich claimed their first trophy under Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday, downing Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the DFL-Supercup.

Although viewed by some as more of a preseason friendly than a normal, competitive match, the football on display was of excellent calibre, with both sides deeply committed to their cause. Any meeting of the teams in Germany's "Klassiker" is a special occasion, and the stakes this time were even higher than usual.

Mats Hummels was keen to make a good impression in his first match since leaving BVB for the Allianz Arena. And on the other side, Thomas Tuchel was keen to show that despite losing Hummels, Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan this summer, his new additions were sufficient to lead Dortmund to success.

The winner on the day, though, was new Bayern manager Ancelotti. In his first competitive match with the Munich giants, he won his first trophy. It was one of the few trophies Pep Guardiola was unable to win during his tenure at the Allianz Arena, and it ended a three-year winless streak in the competition.

The result carries with it a certain historic significance. The last time Bayern won the Supercup was in 2012, in a match that saw them beat Dortmund for the first time in six meetings. Moreover, it came shortly after Bayern had finished runners-up in three competitions, their 5-2 DFB-Pokal defeat to Dortmund being particularly humiliating.

PATRIK STOLLARZ/Getty Images

When Bayern won the 2012 Supercup, it was emotionally liberating. Their celebrations were perhaps over the top, given the relative importance of the competition compared to others, but the experience was cathartic. It took a huge weight off the shoulders of Bayern's players and gave them confidence that they could win titles again. Nine months later, they won their first and only treble in club history.

It is therefore symbolically important that Bayern overcame Dortmund on Sunday. Previously, Bayern fans were wowed by the innovations of Louis van Gaal, a visionary who changed the way the club played football and helped the side overachieve in reaching the 2010 Champions League final.

Guardiola's time at the helm felt similar: Bayern played impressively, but the manager's innovation was always just too far a reach for Bayern to achieve everything they were capable of.

After Van Gaal, Jupp Heynckes was hired to bring the pragmatism that had been lacking during the Dutchman's time, a sort of worldly effectiveness that had been too ordinary for his predecessor. We saw a bit of the same from Ancelotti's side on Sunday.

Dortmund played decisively better football than Bayern in the first half, and the Bavarians only really took control in the final half-hour or so of the game.

The losing side published a report on their official website after the game touting their statistical "win," citing their having won 54 percent of "actions on the ball," 51 percent of challenges for the ball, completing 87 percent of their passes to Bayern's 81, and outshooting their visitors by 20-9. By the numbers, Dortmund played a good game.

Yet despite coming out the worse in many of the statistical categories, Bayern won the only stat that mattered: the goals scored.

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Dortmund's inability to capitalize while playing better football certainly did play a role that was out of Ancelotti and Bayern's hands. Yet at the same time, Bayern held their nerve, kept their composure (Franck Ribery's early lashing out against Felix Passlack aside) and went ahead. Arturo Vidal, who has often delivered in key moments in recent months, came up trumps to net the opener on 58 minutes.

BVB fought back, but their fire soon faded. Out of ideas and dumbfounded at having gone behind, they soon started to cede the majority of possession, and the game took on the appearance of a typical Bayern match: Ancelotti's side keeping possession, stroking the ball around and frustrating their opponents to no end. Thomas Muller stabbed home a second goal in the 79th minute to end the game.

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#FCBayern 2-0 #BVB: @MrAncelotti hails Bayern’s self-confidence after #SuperCup2016 win. https://t.co/HI1kR0wws0 pic.twitter.com/wVFsqJokoD

— 1hrsport.com (@1hrSPORT) August 15, 2016"

Whenever a new manager takes over at a club, the early stages are critical. It can take time for the players to adapt to his vision for the club and for the coach to figure out how best to implement his strategies within the context of the squad he has available.

The fact that Ancelotti had his team playing effective football in his competitive debut bodes well for Bayern and their prospects for the current season. If history is any indicator, they could find themselves in contention for another treble.

@Mr_Bundesliga