Bayern Munich: Five takeaways from 3-2 Der Klassiker victory

Bayern Munich recorded all three points against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in the latest edition of Der Klassiker. The visitors were able to recover from conceding a goal just minutes into the match and went on to record their 11th win of the domestic season with a 3-2 victory over Dortmund. The result increases Bayern’s advantage over Dortmund in the Bundesliga table to four points as Die Roten will occupy first place in the German top-flight for yet another week. Here are five takeaways from the match.

Seven in a row

This was the seventh consecutive victory for Bayern over Dortmund in all competitions. In the Bundesliga alone, Die Roten have won five in a row against their rivals. The last time Dortmund won a home Bundesliga fixture against Bayern was in November of 2018.

Taking advantage of the defensive errors

All three of Bayern’s goals were scored following defensive errors by Dortmund. They took advantage of these errors immediately and it proved to be the difference in this match. This was an encouraging sign for Bayern as they had struggled with finishing in recent weeks. Entering this match, they had not scored more than two goals in a match in their last four fixtures in all competitions. On Saturday, the finishing ability was there for the most part and it allowed Die Roten to record an important three points.

Erling Haaland impact not enough for Dortmund

The rising star scored yet another fantastic goal against Bayern and it nearly proved to be the equalizing goal that earned Dortmund at least a point from this match. However, the penalty kick that was awarded later on would give Bayern the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute.

Haaland has now scored four goals in his last three Bundesliga appearances against Bayern but each time Dortmund has been defeated. Despite Dortmund not being able to get past Bayern in these matches, Haaland has certainly shown he is a future talent with his performances against the record champions. Expect him to be impactful once more when these two clubs meet again later in this season.

Another brace for Robert Lewandowski

The best player in the Bundesliga once again rose to the occasion in the Der Klassiker. Lewandowski’s two-goal performance powered Bayern to victory as the striker has now scored 16 goals in 14 league appearances this season. Impressively, his career goal total playing against his old club is 26 goals in 25 matches. According to OptaFranz, this was the eighth time in Lewandowski’s career he’s recorded two goals or more against Dortmund in a single match.

Thomas Muller increases assist streak

The assists keep coming from Thomas Muller. Entering this fixture, the Bayern veteran had recorded an assist in each of his last six Bundesliga appearances and now that streak is increased to seven matches with his assist against Dortmund. Muller has been directly involved in 11 of Bayern’s last 21 goals they’ve scored in the German top-flight as he’s posted nine assists and two goals in his last seven league appearances.