Martínez heads Bayern past Sevilla to win Super Cup

Javi Martínez headed in winning goal in extra time as Bayern Munich beat Sevilla 2-1 in UEFA Super Cup on Thursday in a stadium partially filled with fans.

Seven years after scoring ar extra-time goal to help Bayern win its last Super Cup, Martínez rose above a crowd of players to head in rebound when Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bouu parried David Alaba's speculative shot in 104th minute.

It could be one of Martínez's last games for Bayern after chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told German media last month that versatile defensive player was seeking to leave.

Playing extra time was far from ideal for eir team in a season which has started later than rmal and will have a more congested calendar amid coronavirus pandemic. For both Bayern and Sevilla it was start of a run of four games in 11 days and came barely a month after Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain in Champions League final.

Europa League champion Sevilla took an early lead when David Alaba fouled Ivan Rakitic and Lucas Ocampos converted 13th-minute penalty. Champions League winner Bayern leveled when Leon Goretzka hammered in a ball expertly cued up for him by Robert Lewandowski in 34th.

Bayern was largely in control of second half but saw two goals ruled out — one for offside, one for a shove by Lewandowski — and needed Neuer to save Youssef En-Nesyri's shot on counterattack in 87th minute.

game was played with around 15,000 supporters in Puskas Arena, around a quarter of capacity, as UEFA trialed a partial return of fans in time for Champions League and Europa League group sts.

However, recent rise in coronavirus cases across Europe — and Budapest in particular — made it a controversial move.

Around 800 out of 2,100 tickets sold to Bayern fans were returned ahead of game after politicians in state of Bavaria warned fans against going to Budapest. Sevilla distributed around 500 tickets, meaning vast majority of people in stadium were Hungarian locals.

Social distancing rules were largely followed at Puskas Arena, with fans sitting in ones and twos with empty seats in between.

international travel for Bayern and Sevilla fans also made Super Cup an outlier. main European leagues that have resumed with supporters, such as Germany and France, have restricted games to home fans so as t to encour long-distance travel during pandemic.

Bayern lifted a fourth trophy in three months after Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League, even if it was a largely symbolic prize. Sevilla has played four Super Cup games in last seven years as a serial winner of Europa League and lost m all.

Im credits: AP