Dayot Upamecano (l.) and Harry Kane (r.) celebrate Bayern Munich’s opening goal in Der Klassiker … [+]
It is the same procedure as every year. Unbeaten in 17 games, Borussia Dortmund seemed ripe to win their first Klassiker against Bayern Munich since 2018, especially after the Rekordmeister lost 2-1 to 3. Liga side Saarbrücken earlier this week in the DFB Pokal. But rather than making it a contest, the game was effectually over after nine minutes as Dayot Upamecano (4’) and Harry Kane (9’) scored quickly.
Dortmund then pushed but finished the first half without a single shot on goal. The best chance was produced by Donyell Malen just before halftime, but his curled effort just went over the crossbar of Manuel Neuer’s goal.
“We needed some time to sort ourselves,” sporting director Sebastian Kehl said after the game when asked about the two early goals. “But at that point, the game was pretty much done as Bayern were very dominant and used counter-attacking situations to hurt us with their speed. They used the room that we made available to them, and even though Gregor Kobel kept us in it; it just wasn’t a good game by us, and it is something we must live with.”
Goalkeeper Kobel made two fantastic stops early to keep Dortmund in it. In fact, there was a sense in the first 20 minutes of the second half that Dortmund could perhaps find a way back into the game. But then Edin Terzic started to make several substitutes that both helped and hurt Dortmund. An argument could be made that Felix Nmecha for Salih Özcan gave Dortmund the ability to push a bit higher and put pressure on Bayern’s backline. But bringing on Karim Adeyemi for Donyel Malen seemed to make little sense at a point in which Dortmund’s attack finally seemed to find chemistry.
Finally, the big mistake was bringing on Youssoufa Moukoko for Julian Brandt in the 67th minute. Although this wasn’t Brandt’s best game, the midfielder, at least, gave Dortmund some structure and stability in midfield. Both those things were gone immediately, and it isn’t shocking that Kane would score five minutes later to effectively end it and then add a third in the 90th minute to complete his hattrick.
“He was stone cold when he was given opportunities,” Kehl said when asked about Harry Kane, who was spotted in the mixed zone carrying the match ball to the team bus in a plastic shopping bag. “But his teammates also put him into those situations, and we made it too easy for them as well.”
His hattrick against Borussia Dortmund propels Harry Kane’s goal total to 17 goals in 14 games … [+]
Kane has now scored 17 goals in 14 games across all competitions and has been involved in a goal every 48 minutes for Bayern Munich. In other words, Kane has been worth every penny, and Bayern knows it. “As someone who was partly responsible for this transfer, I’m very happy to see it work out this way,” Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said after the game. “And I hope it continues.”
Indeed, while Kane continues to score for Bayern at an impressive rate, and Dortmund now looks like a team back to square one. “We are disappointed,” Kehl said when asked about his team’s gutless performance. “We were looking forward to this game and felt that we could get something from it.” That feeling, in fact, could be felt everywhere in Dortmund, especially after Bayern lost midweek to Saarbrücken.
But perhaps that’s when Bayern is the most dangerous. “A battered boxer is always dangerous,” Bayern midfielder Leon Goretzka said after the game. “I suffered in front of the TV on Wednesday when we lost to Saarbrücken; it was a terrible situation. I’m glad we showed a reaction today.”
Bayern then is keeping track with Leverkusen. Die Werkself beat Hoffenheim 3-2 earlier on Saturday and remains two points ahead of Bayern in the Bundesliga standings. Dortmund, in the meantime, remain fourth but seven points behind Leverkusen and five points behind Bayern.
“It means nothing for now,” Kehl said when asked about falling back behind Leverkusen and Bayern. “But it also would mean nothing if we had won today. Before this game, we hadn’t lost in 17 games; today it was our turn, and we deserved it. We must shake ourselves and don’t have much time because we have an important game on Tuesday. We have a chance to make a big step on Tuesday in the Champions League, and we will try to make it.”
Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth