Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich: BVB dealt hammer blow in Bundesliga title race
By Tom Rodgers
Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga standings to seven points as Joshua Kimmich’s wonder goal was enough to see off rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Kimmich’s delightful chip right before half-time was the difference in a game where Borussia Dortmund saw a lot of the ball, but just lacked that cutting edge to open the Bayern Munich defence.
The home side came out the traps fast and almost found themselves ahead early on. With Manuel Neuer in no-man’s land, Erling Haaland picked up the ball and struck an effort goal wards, only to see Jerome Boateng on the line to clear it away.
Dortmund saw a lot of the ball in the opening 20 minutes but the next big chance would fall to the visitors as Serge Gnabry found himself eight yards out from goal but Lukasz Piszczek was on hand to clear off the line.
The Black and Yellows were looking comfortable heading into half-time of Der Klassiker, but one moment of brilliance from Bayern turned the game on it’s head, as Kimmich found himself with the ball just outside the area. He sent a delightful chip over the head of Roman Bürki and into the Dortmund net, although the Swiss goalkeeper will have been disappointed he didn’t keep it out.
Lucien Favre made two changes at half-time, including the introduction of Jadon Sancho. But the Englishman couldn’t quite get up to the speed of the game and found himself off the pace for the first 25 minutes of the second half.
Midway through the second-half, the home side could and should have had a penalty. Haaland’s close control followed by his strike at goal was tipped round the far post for a corner by the arm of Boateng. But unfortunately their was no VAR check as the game continued.
Things went from bad to worse for Dortmund as Haaland sustained an injury soon after, which meant he was replaced by Gio Reyna. Although this nullified any sort of threat for them in front of goal, with no real striker in the team.
Next. Borussia Dortmund player ratings from Bayern Munich defeat. dark
The away side managed to see the game out fairly comfortably in the end. And the win leaves them seven points clear at the top of the league, with only six games left to play. Borussia Dortmund will be hoping for a miracle over the next few game weeks, if they are mount any sort of revival.