Bayern Munich retains the top spot in the Bundesliga after beating Dortmund.
Bayern Munich regained their number one spot at the Bundesliga after beating Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena on Saturday. What others saw as a win, we see it as ‘the Bavarian Domination.’
The away team took the game’s lead after the Norwegian youngster Erling Haaland scored for the visitors within the first two minutes. Haaland then doubled up his score in the ninth minute of the match when assisted by the Belgian Thorgan Hazard.
The visitors became the second only team to score two goals before the clock hit the 10-minute mark against Bayern since MSV Duisburg did in 1977 where Ronald Worm scored two goals.
The visitors had an opportunity to triple their score, but Thomas Meunier missed a golden opportunity. Soon after, Robert Lewandowski got the hosts back to the game in the 26th minute after scoring via Leroy’s assistance, Sane.
Likewise, the Polish striker got the equalizer just before halftime after converting a penalty. It seemed like a possible comeback was on the horizon.
Then Hansi Flick’s men took the lead for the first time in the game when Leon Goretzka scored from the d-box and made it 3-2.
Ultimately, Lewandowski sealed the victory with his hattrick against his former employers via Alphonso Davies‘ assist.
With this win, Bayern retakes their throne at the top of the German Bundesliga and is currently 2 points ahead of RB Leipzig, who is in third and 10 points from the third-placed VFL Wolfsburg.
Here are some takeaways from the game:
Struggling Dortmund
For the first 10-minutes of the game, it looked like Dortmund was the better team, with Haaland scoring twice to give the visitors an unpredicted lead.
They had the chance to go 3-0 up, but Thomas Meunier missed a golden opportunity which turned costly. Shortly after the miss, the host was back in the game with 2-1.
Although BVB were on a string of good performances, they couldn’t withstand the same form against Bayern, and they conceded another goal right on the stroke of halftime.
The struggle continued right from the start of the second half for Terzic’s men as they couldn’t find another plan. In the end, Dortmund only recorded a total of 4 shots on target throughout the game.
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Superior Bayern
After going 2-0 down within 10-minutes, it was a wake-up call for Hansi Flick’s men to be focused and make sure that they were performing at their peak to equalize and take control of the match.
Robert Lewandowski was clinical the entire game, but we shouldn’t rule out Goretzka, Sane, and Alphonso Davies as their contribution was equally crucial for the fightback. The Bavarians seem more confident than ever to defend their title successfully.
Mr. Dead-Set Halland
Even though he was a part of the losing side, the Norwegian sensation was prepared to put on a great display right from the get-go.
It made an incredible start by scoring two goals before the clock struck the 10-minute time and laid down the challenge to Lewandowski and his Bavarians.
Although the hosts accepted the challenge and succeeded, Erling’s performances continue to shock the world regardless of how the rest of the Dortmund team perform.
Superior Lewandowski
It took Robert almost the entire first half to get off the mark. The ex-BVB star tore into the heart of his former club, and once he starts, there is hardly anything that one can do to stop him.
Lewandowski was the man of the match at the end with his three goals from a total of nine shots, which was more than the total tally of Dortmund’s attempts.
The Reds of Munich or the Reds of Leipzig?
With the result giving Bayern the top spot in the league, it effectively makes the race for the winner a two-horse one. RB Leipzig is the only team close enough to challenge the record champions, while VFL Wolfsburg is at third with a 10-point difference.
With this loss, Borussia Dortmund is currently 16 points adrift the top spot and faces difficulty fighting for a UEFA Champions League automatic qualification spot, let alone the title.
Other teams like Bayern Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt are in the top 4 but realistically have lost too much.
What Now for The Young Stars of Dortmund?
With poor results like this, the future of young stars like Haaland, Jadon Sancho, and Gio Reyna raises eyebrows to the world as they are not sure to secure European football for the upcoming season.
A new coach in Marco Rose might suggest a possibility of improvement to the Black and Yellow team.
As mentioned earlier, the case of players, out of whom Sancho and Gio Reyna were missing in the Munich game, stayed in the squad after the end of the season. More than one exit is likely to happen before a painful rebuild.
