Bayern Munich won their fourth consecutive Bundesliga Klassiker as they defeated Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a thrilling game on Saturday evening.
Robert Lewandowski thought he had given Bayern the lead mid-way through the first half but his goal was ruled out for offside. Marco Reus in fact scored the opener in the 45th minute as he swept home Raphaël Guerreiro’s low cross but David Alaba hauled the visitors level minutes later with a deflected free-kick. Lewandowksi then predictably got his name on the scoresheet shortly after the restart with an excellent header against his former club.
Leroy Sane’s late goal all-but sealed victory despite Erling Braut-Haaland pulling a goal back just minutes later. Lewandowski then had another goal chalked off for a tight offside call but Bayern held on for another victory over Dortmund, taking them two points clear at the top of the table.
Here are three things we learned from an extremely entertaining clash at the Signal Iduna Park:
Dortmund end goalless run against Klassiker rivals
In giving the hosts the lead against their great rivals, German international Reus ended a long run without a goal against Bayern for Dortmund. Heading into Saturday’s clash, BVB had not managed to score against Bayern in each of the prior three league meetings, those all being defeats.
However, Reus’ brilliant right footed finish and Haaland’s cool finish late on finally ended that long wait, and whilst it wasn’t enough for them to finally earn a win against their rivals, it was certainly a gutsy showing from Lucien Favre’s men. That then could possibly signal a stronger Dortmund in Der Klassiker, as well as the Bundesliga title race for the foreseeable future.
Bayern continue their commitment to attacking
Coming up against their great rivals and even going behind, it might well have been easy for Bayern to freeze and develop a more conservative approach to the match. There was even an even bigger reason to possibly get more defensive after Haaland had pulled a goal back for Dortmund. That is simply not what Hansi Flick’s team are about though.
Throughout the match, their commitment to attacking and scoring goals was clear; indicated in their third strike in the 80th minute with as many as five Bayern bodies breaking up field as Sane tucked home.
The result now means that Bayern have netted a stunning 27 goals in just seven Bundesliga games so far this campaign. Should they continue that unbelievable rate of scoring then they are set to score over 130 goals this campaign – in no doubt a league record.
Lewandowski loves Der Klassiker
Despite Dortmund actually taking the lead in a game that could be an early contest for the Bundesliga crown, reigning champions Bayern actually managed to come from behind with former BVB striker Lewandowski of course finding the net and having another two goals ruled out by VAR.
Having already been named as the record scorer in games between Bayern and Dortmund, he added to his haul again, taking him an eye-watering nine goals clear of nearest challenger – the great Gerd Muller. In fact, the Pole has been in truly stunning form against his former employers since making the move to the Allianz Arena, having netted 17 goals in just 13 league appearances against Dortmund. He is certainly guaranteed to go down in the annuls of the two great rivals, this fixture and of course the Bundesliga.
Match Report
Borussia Dortmund: Burki (7); Guerreiro (7), Hummels (6), Akanji (6), Meunier (7); Delaney (5) (Bellingham (6), 60′), Witsel (6); Reyna (6) (Brandt (6), 69′), Reus (7), Sancho (5) (Hazard (6), 69′); Haaland (7).
Bayern Munich: Neuer (7); Hernandez (6), Alaba (7), Boateng (6) (Martinez (6), 69′), Sarr (5); Goretzka (6), Kimmich (6) (Tolisso (6), 36′); Gnabry (6), Muller (7), Coman (6) (Sane (7), 69′), Lewandowski (7).
Goals: Reus (45′), Alaba (45+4′), Lewandowski (48′), Sane (80′), Haaland (83′)
Referee: Manuel Grafe
Yellow Cards: Kimmich (36′), Delaney (45+3′), Lewandowski (82′), Witsel (90+1′)
Red Cards: N/A
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