Witsel revels in Bayern´s Sancho fear

Axel Witsel was left revelling in the fear of Bayern Munich’s defence after claiming they were “scared” of Jadon Sancho in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 DFL-Supercup win on Saturday.

Dortmund looked the more threatening and inventive side for much of the game in Germany’s traditional curtain-raiser, with Paco Alcacer and Sancho getting the goals.

Sancho also set up the opener, dazzling the Bayern defence on a solo run, before teeing up Alcacer for a sweeping finish from the edge of the box.

England international Sancho picked up from where he left off last season, when he scored 12 Bundesliga goals and recorded a league-high 14 assists.

Dortmund managed to see off reported interest from Manchester United to keep the winger, and on the evidence of Saturday’s match, Sancho will be tormenting Bundesliga defences again this term.

2019 Super Cup Winners!  #Believe ‼️ pic.twitter.com/mMubYA3MDo

— Jadon Sancho (@Sanchooo10) August 3, 2019

“Jadon is damn talented,” Witsel told reporters. “Even Bayern’s defenders are scared when he has the ball.

“But that’s normal, because Jadon just has a lot of quality. He is fast, technically strong and he can score goals as well as putting his team-mates in the spotlight. He really is a complete player.”

Despite the relatively comfortable nature of the victory, Witsel was not getting carried away and was adamant Bayern’s form will pick up.

“It is a good sign, but we have to keep working hard,” he added. “Before the game, we said we are quite self-confident.

“If you’re playing against Bayern and you’re not self-confident, like we were in April [when Bayern won 5-0], then you have no chance. You cannot win if you do not play [in a positive fashion] against Bayern.

“It will be a very long season and, in the end, Bayern are still Bayern. That means we have to get back to work.”