Controversial refereeing decisions help Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2

Some controversial refereeing decisions by Felix Zwayer and a brace from Robert Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich earn a 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund in what was an electric Der Klassiker.

Bayern Munich came out on top in Der Klassiker, beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 thanks to a brace from Robert Lewandowski. But the game wasn’t without controversy, as the Black and Yellows were denied what looked like a clear penalty before the Bavarians were awarded a dubious spot-kick that sealed the win for them.

Borussia Dortmund fought valiantly, but in the end it wasn’t enough as they fell to a 3-2 defeat. Marco Rose’s side now find themselves four points behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings.

Borussia Dortmund received a number of big boosts ahead of the game, with Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Manuel Akanji and Raphael Guerreiro all fit to play from the start. Donyell Malen made way for the Norwegian international, and Marius Wolf and Nico Schulz also dropped to the bench.

The game was played at a very high tempo right from the start with both teams looking to get on the front foot early on.

Borussia Dortmund opened the scoring in just the fifth minute of the game, with Julian Brandt finding the back of the net after getting on the end of Jude Bellingham’s lobbed ball and dribbling his way past Alphonso Davies.

But Dortmund’s lead was short-lived, as a mistake from Mats Hummels allowed Thomas Müller to pounce and set up Robert Lewandowski. The former Dortmund striker coolly finished past Gregor Kobel to make it 1-1.

The end to end action continued for the rest of the first half, with Erling Haaland going close and Kingsley Coman forcing a save from Gregor Kobel after poor defending from Borussia Dortmund. More sloppy defending allowed Bayern to take the lead on the stroke of half-time. Raphael Guerreiro’s attempted clearance hit Hummels and fell kindly for Coman, who made it 2-1 for Bayern with a deflected strike.

Borussia Dortmund came out of the blocks quickly for the second half, and they managed to get back on level terms just three minutes after the restart. Erling Haaland found the top corner with a stunning curling effort from a tight angle with his right foot. The home side continued to dominate proceedings and were denied what looked like a stonewall penalty at the hour mark after Marco Reus was brought down inside the box. Haaland then came close to doubling his tally, but his effort was cleared off the line.

Borussia Dortmund then received a big blow as Julian Brandt had to be stretchered off after suffering a head injury following a collision with Dayot Upamecano.

The game turned on its head once again in the 77th minute when Felix Zwayer awarded Bayern a penalty for a handball inside the box from Mats Hummels after taking a look at the pitchside monitor. Robert Lewandowski made no mistake from the spot and made it 3-2 for Bayern. To make matters worse for Dortmund, Marco Rose was awarded a second yellow card for protesting the decision.

With Erling Haaland not fit enough to play the full 90 minutes, Borussia Dortmund weren’t able to mount a comeback late on. And Bayern held on to claim the three points. A draw would have been a fair result, but in the end it wasn’t to be for BVB who have now lost their last seven games against Bayern Munich.