It was only a small misstep for (a) man, but it ensured that Niko Kovac’s post-mission debrief took a giant leap into a much more pleasant direction.



As far as accidents go, this was a rather happy one.



Kovac had ample reason to be grateful that all the talk after his Bayern Munich side’s 2-0 defeat by Borussia Dortmund in the German Supercup on Saturday night centred on an off-the-pitch stamp by Joshua Kimmich rather than his team’s failure to land any blows on it.



Bayern right back Kimmich had been extremely lucky to get away with a yellow card after he had needlessly planted his studs on Jadon Sancho’s ankle in front of the Dortmund bench while the ball was out of play 14 minutes before the end.



Like many observers in the ground, Kovac hadn’t seen the incident. He played the ‘He’s not that type of player’ card (“Josh wouldn’t do that on purpose”), and Kimmich pleaded innocence,...