Leipzig now pursuer number 1
©IMAGO
FC Bayern Munich won the classic against Borussia Dortmund 2-1 (1-0) and extended their lead in the table to five points. The record champions showed a convincing performance for long periods against the black and yellow, who stayed in the game for a long time but ultimately deserved to lose.
Harry Kane took the deserved lead after a corner from Joshua Kimmich in the 22nd minute. In the second half, Michael Olise followed up on a major mistake by Jobe Bellingham (78′), Julian Brandt’s goal in the 84th minute came too late.
The Munich team now has eleven wins in as many games across all competitions. In the Bundesliga, coach Vincent Kompany’s team is five points ahead of RB Leipzig after matchday 7. Dortmund slipped from second to fourth place in the table and are already seven points behind Bayern.
“We have to be like a fist. A fist hurts more than a bell,” Dortmund coach Niko Kovac said before the game. It was a pious wish for a long time. The Borussia team were far from scoring effective goals in their 113th Bundesliga duel against Bayern.
The home team dominated the game at will for a long time; the statisticians measured almost 75 percent ball possession for the Munich team before the break. The only good news for BVB was that the score was only 1-0 at the break. After a corner from Joshua Kimmich, Kane was surprisingly unchallenged to head the ball; Opponent Serhou Guirassy and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who didn’t move off the line, didn’t look good.
In a one-sided first half, Bayern made several attempts – but then wingers Olise and Luis Díaz in particular failed to score. Olise missed a chance early on (3′), only shortly afterwards a shot from the Frenchman was parried by Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel (11′), as was Díaz’s follow-up shot. After a remarkable ball relay, Olise later hit the outside post (36th), Díaz’s shot was blocked shortly afterwards at the last moment.
The Dortmund defense, in which ex-national player Niklas Süle initially played for the ailing Ramy Bensebaini, barely had time to breathe for 45 minutes. “We can’t park the bus at the back. We have to look for an escape to the front,” Coach Kovac said on Sky. There was no sign of this before the break.
Bayern also had to replace a regular player at short notice because Serge Gnabry complained of adductor problems. For the DFB professional, Kane moved into the tenth position, summer newcomer Nicolas Jackson went up front. And it was Kane who organized Munich’s offensive game, repeatedly winning balls in his own half and ushering in quick attacks with clever, precise passes. It was only the exploitation of opportunities that the Munich team could complain about at the break.
Dortmund had not lost to Bayern three times in a row in the Bundesliga – after the break it was at least clear that they were trying to continue this series. In front of national coach Julian Nagelmann, Felix Nmecha had Westphalia’s first chance to score with a header (49′), Guirassy powerfully chased a ball over the goal (59′). But that was it for a long time with Dortmund’s goal threat. When Olise took advantage of Bellingham’s uncertainty in front of his own goal with a clever tackle to make it 2-0, the match seemed decided. But Brandt surprisingly shortened.