Bayern Munich clinch Bundesliga title after winning Der Klassiker
By Isaac Rivers
On Matchday 31 of this Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich was looking to secure their 10th consecutive title in their home match against Borussia Dortmund. What made this game that much more exciting was that it was the first time in history that a Der Klassiker determined a league winner.
Right from kick-off, it seemed as though both sides were playing full of nervousness. A couple of sloppy passes from both teams saw the opening phase of the game an end-to-end play. This Der Klassiker finally got its turning point just 15 minutes in with a miraculous opening goal.
A Bayern corner found the head of Leon Goretzka as he was charging into the box. Instead of opting for the shot, he tapped it back to the goal scorer Serge Gnabry. After a great first touch of the knee, Gnabry fired a rocket of a volley from outside the box to find the top left corner of the net.
After the opening goal, Dortmund finally found the courage to kick up the intensity. The following ten minutes saw two very strong fast breaks from striker Erling Haaland but he was unable to bring his side level with either chance.
With having a second Gnabry goal called back for being offside in the 30th minute, it was just four minutes later that Bayern grabbed their second official goal through none other than Robert Lewandowski. A brilliant through-ball from Thomas Muller found Lewandowski streaking into the box to hammer the ball through the legs of Dortmund keeper Marwin Hitz.
The second half picked up right where the first left off, creating nothing short of an exciting contest. Just seven minutes in, Dortmund was awarded a penalty from a poor Joshua Kimmich tackle, which was clinically finished by Emre Can.
After trading chance after chance, Hitz displayed his superb reflexes in the 70th minute to keep out what looked to be a for-sure Lewandowski goal. From a brilliant lobbed cross from Muller, Lewandowski drew an even more brilliant save from Hitz to keep his Dortmund side in the game.
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However, it was only 13 minutes later that the super-sub Jamal Musiala put the final nail in the coffin to seal Bayern’s title-winning victory. In the 83rd minute, from one deflected shot after another, Musiala finally received the lucky break that his shot found the back of the net.
This Der Klassiker turned out to be one chock-full of excitement. With this 3-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich are crowned league champions for the record tenth consecutive time– the best streak ever in European history.