Borussia Dortmund missed yet another chance to win a trophy following their 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2026 Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Saturday.
Nathaniel Brown and Michael Olise were on target for the Bundesliga champions, while Fabio Silva pulled one back for the BVB in second half.
Having strengthened themselves with a spate of new signings this summer, expectations from the home side were high.
Yet, it was Bayern who started the game strongly and went in front after 28 minutes. A poor clearance from Ramy Bensebaini landed the ball at Brown's feet.
The German international controlled it and then smashed an effort into the post with BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel rooted to his spot.
Although Kobel denied Brown a second one shortly after, Olise capitalized on a poor back-pass from Jobe Bellingham to double their advantage just moments before the break.
Dortmund grew into the game in the second half, looking more dangerous going forward but a goal remained elusive, until substitute Fabio Silva reduced the arrears in the 75th minute.
Both teams wasted crucial opportunities in stoppage-time, with Olise racing half the length of the pitch on a counter but failing to make the finish, and Maximilian Beier bundling a shot over the bar from close-range.
The defeat left Niko Kovac without a trophy at the club, whose titeless run was already in its fifth year. Here are some worrying stats from their latest Supercup defeat:
1) Joint most losses
With yet another defeat in the German Supercup, Borussia Dortmund have drawn level with Bayern Munich for the most number of defeats in the one-off cup clash, with seven.
Interestingly, all seven of them have come this century, in the last 15 years: 2011 and 2012 under Jurgen Klopp, followed by 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021 and now 2026 defeats.
But while the Bavarians have won the trophy 12 times, the BVB have clinched it on just six occasions, a clear marker of their struggles in the cup.
2) Third consecutive defeat
For just the second time in the German Supercup history, a team has lost it three times in a row. Bayern were the only team to have held such a distinction after losing it in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
But after Saturday's defeat, Dortmund join the unwanted list, having previously been defeated in the cup in their 2020 and 2021 appearances, although unlike Bayern, their losses didn't come in consecutive years.
3) Most home defeats
10 different teams have been the hosts of the Supercup in history, but no one has suffered as many defeats on their turf as Borussia Dortmund.
Saturday's loss marked their fourth home defeat in the cup, having previously held and lost the German Supercup in 2016, 2017 and 2021 too.
Interestingly, Bayern were the prevailing side each time.
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