The most attractive game for marketing the Bundesliga turns into a one-sided affair in favor of FC Bayern. The result, the comparison of individual players and the general excessive demands show Borussia Dortmund’s limits.
This scene in the 36th minute will not make it into any television report because it was extremely boring. That’s exactly why it says so much about the game between BVB and Bayern.
There was a free kick for Dortmund in their own penalty area, and Mats Hummels shuffled to the ball as if he wanted to waste a few seconds in the final minutes of the game to preserve a lead. But at that moment Borussia were already 2-0 behind.
Dortmund lacked the conviction and the resources
It would have been necessary to start catching up as quickly as possible, but there was a lack of conviction and resources. In addition, there was an all-too-justified fear of conceding another goal after one of these counterattacks, which brutally exposed the differences in quality between the two clubs’ squads. “We couldn’t handle the opponent’s pace or pass security,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzić.
This statement can be easily proven in a television report; a sequence from the ninth minute is sufficient. Niclas Füllkrug plays a bad pass in the Munich penalty area, which seconds later makes it 2-0 through Harry Kane in the other penalty area.
“If you’re 2-0 down and we inevitably have these moments of change, then it can get unpleasant,” said Thomas Müller quite diplomatically when asked whether he would be in a game that is so important for the German Football League’s foreign marketing would have expected more resistance.
Bayern’s Kane takes home the three-hit ball
Kane dragged the game ball into the team bus in a plastic bag on Saturday evening (November 4th, 2023). If you score at least three goals of your own, the striker secures the ball for private possession. He now has three – and that after only ten Bundesliga games. In total he has 15 goals.
Harry Kane (l.) and Nico Schlotterbeck
Füllkrug also comes up with this number, but in terms of shots on goal. The comparison is a bit flawed because he had a good two hours more playing time, but it is also quite meaningful regarding the differences in quality in the squads of the two clubs.
Dortmund striker Füllkrug missed the passes
Füllkrug, who came from Werder Bremen in the summer, is a center forward who lives by looking after his colleagues. He was almost cut off from this against Bayern. Julian Brandt, Marco Reus and Donyell Malen found no space to serve Füllkrug against a Munich defense that was always well-manned thanks to the early lead and disciplined players.
Ultimately, he had zero shots on goal. For Kane there were five, all recorded in the penalty area and in terms of hits alone from Gregor Kobel or even from the empty goal.
Sané overran Dortmund’s defense
Kane’s outstanding assistant was Leroy Sané, who overwhelmed Dortmund’s defenders with his pace, his close control of the ball when dribbling and precise passes.
It’s already November, and BVB’s record with only two defeats in the Bundesliga in the 2023 calendar year still reads very well. But those two defeats against Bayern revealed limits that Dortmund reached much sooner than Munich.
Before Christmas, BVB has three more games against teams that are currently ranked in the top five of the Bundesliga. League leaders Bayer Leverkusen already have seven points more than BVB.
BVB sports director Kehl: “It doesn’t say anything yet”
“That doesn’t say anything at all“, said Dortmund’s sports director Sebastian Kehl. Even a win against Bayern would not have had any meaningful impact on the entire season, he added.
For the moment, however, it would have shown that the Dortmunders live up to the reputation with which the DFL markets the club: When explaining “The Klassiker”, the league writes that the “two heavyweights” meet when the term is used again had been strained for a week. BVB no longer believed in that very early on Saturday.