Lewandowski leapfrogs Aubameyang with his 26th goal of the season
It was the game of cat and mouse at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon with Bayern Munich putting in a commanding display to see off their fierce rivals in yet another edition of famous Der Klassiker derby.
Our in-depth match report follows:
Team News & Form Guide
Bayern Munich suffered a surprising defeat ahead of Der Klassiker at Hoffenheim, which put an end to their seven-match winning run in all competitions. It did little damage to their title race however and the Bavarians headed into the highly-anticipated derby in great spirits.
Borussia Dortmund travelled to Allianz Arena with inconsistency as their biggest problem this season. The BVB have endured mixed fortunes in the Bundesliga this season, which have ultimately cost them the 15-point deficit behind the league leaders. However, the most recent four-match unbeaten run was supposed to blow some wind into Borussia Dortmund’s sails.
Bayern Munich first-choice goalkeeper Manuel Neuer failed to recover from his calf injury in time for the match, whereas Thomas Muller was also ruled out due to his ankle problem.
The visitors entered the game with a much bigger headache as Thomas Tuchel was forced to go against Bayern Munich without Eric Durm, Mario Gotze, Shinji Kagawa, long-term absentee Jacob-Bruun Larsen, Marco Reus, Andre Schurrle and Julian Weigl.
First Half
Borussia Dortmund made a great start to the match at Allianz Arena with hot-shot Ousmane Dembele driving into the penalty box and firing a drive over the bar after only two minutes into the game.
The hosts were having none of it however as they responded with force, opening their account two minutes later through Franck Ribery. Philipp Lahm and Arjen Robben combined nicely to set the Frenchman up for a low shot which went into the back of the net with a slight help from a Robben’s deflection.
Bayern Munich doubled their lead five minutes later to set their footprint on the match straight from the start, much to the delight from the home supporters. Franck Ribery was brought down outside the box, allowing Bayern Munich top scorer Robert Lewandowski to curl in a wonderful free kick for his seventh straight home goal and his 25th in total.
Determined to put the game to bed as early as possible, Bayern Munich got so closed to scoring their third with only 13 minutes gone on the clock. Arjen Robben collected the ball and cut inside for one of his trademark shots which flew inches past the post.
Borussia Dortmund refused to go down without a fight and after 19 minutes in the match Raphael Guerreiro made sure to bring back suspense into the match with a thumping long-range drive on a loose ball which went straight into the top corner. Guerreiro’s goal has given Dortmund confidence to get back in the match after Bayern Munich came close to scoring their third and the visitors were playing much better in the closing stages of the first half.
The Black-and-Yellows still failed to utilise their biggest weapon upfront during first 45 minutes as they left Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang isolated upfront for the entire half.
Second Half
Dortmund’s hopes of getting back into the game have been quashed soon after the restart whistle as it only took four minutes for Bayern Munich to reopen the two-goal lead.
Arjen Robben should never be left alone down the right side, but on this particular match he was given too many shots from that right-hand side during the first half and into the second period as well. The same way he tiptoed inside to the left and past two Borussia Dortmund defenders before unleashing a trademark shot into the far low corner for morale-boosting 3-1 lead.
Detached from rest of the team during the entire match, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was given a rare moment to get in a goal chance, but his inside the box attempt to put the ball into the net was thwarted in the nick of time as Boateng came to rectify his teammates’ previous errors.
The punishment came minutes later when Bayern Munich were awarded a penalty after Robert Lewandowski was crushed down in the box by Roman Burki, just moments after Jerome Boateng cleared the ball from the goal-line. The Polish striker injured his shoulder when he fell to the ground but it did not prevent him from scoring the fourth goal for his team and his 26th of the season to overtake Aubameyang at the top of the Bundesliga top scorers’ chart.
Lewandowski was forced out through injury, but Bayern Munich’s attacking style of play did not dissipate as the hosts continued to push Borussia Dortmund deeper and deeper into their own half, looking to score their fifth in the match.
The visitors attempted to break a couple of counterattacks and it was Pulisic’s effort that is worth mentioning, together with Ulreich’s wonderful save to deny the American’s effort.
The score line did not change until the end as Bayern Munich grabbed a much-deserved Der Klassiker victory.
Statistical Overview
- Bayern Munich had 66% of ball to their feet compared to BVB’s 34%
- The Bavarians made the total of 19 goals attempts to Dortmund’s 9
- Ancelotti’s men extended their lead to 18 points in front of BVB
- Robert Lewandowski reach the 26-goal mark against Dortmund
- Today’s win is Bayern’s sixth consecutive on home ground
BAYERN MUNICH: Ulreich 6.5 – Lahm 7, Martinez 7 (Hummels -), Boateng 7, Alaba 6.5 – Alonso 7, Vidal 7.5 – Robben 8, Alcantara 7, Ribery 7.5 (Costa 6.5) – Lewandowski 8.5 (Kimmich 6.5)
Unused subs: Bernat, Coman, Rafinha, Starke.
BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Burki 6.5 – Ginter 6, Sokratis 6.5, Bartra 6.5 – Passlack 6, Castro 6 (Rode 6), Guerrero 6.5 (Merino 6) – Pulisic 6.5, Dembele 5.5 (Mor 6) – Aubameyang 5.5
Unused subs: Bender, Piszczek, Sahin, Weidenfeler.
REFEREE: Marko Fritz
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