Bayern Munich bounce back against Borussia Dortmund
By Isaac Rivers
After the conclusion of the international break, the Bundesliga housed its biggest game of the 22/23 season to date. Bayern Munich, sitting in second place, hosted league leaders Borussia Dortmund. The first time these two sides faced each other this season ended in a 2-2 draw. With Bayern working under the newly appointed Thomas Tuchel, there was a lot of drama in the build-up to this game.
Right off the whistle, Dortmund was looking to establish some early attacking momentum. The visitors were passing with purpose and precision. After a long period of Dortmund attack, defender Matthijs de Ligt cut out a solid Dortmund shot with a last-ditch sliding tackle.
This tackle led to a momentum shift as just minutes later Bayern was able to break the deadlock. In just the 13th minute, a ball played from Dayot Upamecano managed to find the back of the net. From deep within Bayern’s half, the Frenchmen played a through-ball forward to Leroy Sane, but an awkward bounce made sure Gregor Kobel fails to clear it and instead guide it into his own net.
The error from Kobel seemed to be the beginning of an early end for Dortmund in this game because two more goals were scored in rapid succession. In the 18th minute, Bayern Captain Thomas Muller added his name to the score sheet. Stemming from a corner kick, the ball found the head of de Ligt. The Dutchman was headed straight into the ground. Being in the right place, right time, Muller was there to tap the ball into the net with his thigh.
Just four minutes later, Muller grabbed himself the 25th Bundesliga brace of his career. A powerful shot from Sane drew a solid save from the Dortmund keeper but was only able to parry the ball back into play. Once again, Muller found himself in just the right place to send the ball across the goal line. The remaining 20 minutes of the first half were filled with a brilliant display of Bayern dominance and Dortmund struggling to get anything going for them.
However, the second-half excitement started with a great attacking effort from the Dortmund forward Sebastian Haller. Running free down the right side with a lot of space, Haller got himself into a good position to score but was unable to finish the job.
Bayern picked up where they left off in the first half as Kingsley Coman scored Bayern’s fourth of the day. A dummy pass from Muller left the ball roll into Coman at the back post to put the game beyond Dortmund.
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As Bayern’s attacking pressure seemed to cease, Dortmund stepped up in the final quarter of the game. The visitors scored two goals in the last 20 minutes of the game. In the 70th minute, a poor tackle from Serge Gnabry granted Dortmund the penalty kick. In the dying moments of the game, Dortmund’s Donyell Malen grabbed himself a well-taken goal but it was nothing more than a consolation.
Bayern Munich came out as Der Klassiker champions as they defeated Dortmund 4-2. A good start under Thomas Tuchel and Bayern will be looking to secure another win midweek as they face off against SC Freiburg in the quarter-finals of DFB Pokal.