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Ten-man Bayer Leverkusen won the trophy for the first time on Saturday by beating Stuttgart 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the first German Super Cup of the season. Winner Boniface’s 11th-minute goal was cancelled out four minutes later when Stuttgart’s Enzo Millot equalised. Leverkusen were then reduced to 10 men shortly before half-time when Martin Terrier was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle. Deniz Undaev gave Stuttgart the lead in the second half but Patrick Schick Leverkusen equalised two minutes before the end of the match, taking the match to penalties.
Bayern Munich loanee Frans Kreutzig and Silas Mvumpa missed from the spot while Leverkusen converted all their penalties.
“In the last 10 or 15 minutes, without a player, what we did led to the equaliser – it was unbelievable,” the Leverkusen coach said. Xabi Alonso After the match he praised his team’s “tremendous spirit”.
“I’m happy with the way we started the season – we’ve got that excitement back”.
This season curtain-raiser, which sees the Bundesliga champion face the cup winner or league runner-up, was the first such match since 1993 that did not feature Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund.
Stuttgart had a stellar season last season, finishing second behind Bayern, before suffering a summer of turmoil that saw a number of star players leave the club.
“Before the game, we didn’t really know where we stood this season,” Stuttgart manager Sebastian Hoeness told reporters after the game.
“So for us this was a clear sign that we were going in the right direction again.”
Leverkusen, twice unbeaten winners of the Bundesliga and German Cup last season, managed to avoid any major player departures and started strongly on Saturday.
Boniface scored after 11 minutes from a header over Edmond Tapsoba.
The visitors equalised four minutes later when French Olympic silver medallist Millot volleyed Chris Furyk’s pass into a crowded penalty area into the bottom right corner.
Both sides exchanged chances before the off-season signing dug his studs into the ankle of Ermedin Demirovic and was promptly sent off the field.
Coach Xabi Alonso chooses Boniface over Germany defender Jonathan Tah scored almost immediately, but Stuttgart dominated before half-time, with Millot and Pascal Stenzel both inches away from scoring a second goal.
Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness introduced Undav and Kratzig off the bench and the duo gave the hosts the lead just a minute later when the former Brighton striker scored on the counter.
Leverkusen, famous for changing the course of the match by scoring a goal in the last moments last season, once again took the lead in the last moments. Alex Grimaldo passed the ball to Schick who put the ball into the goal just two minutes into the match.
The match went straight to penalties without extra time and Leverkusen – who have not lost a match at home since May 2023 – were impeccable.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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