Borussia Dortmund rescued a point in their Der Klassiker match against Bayern Munich on Saturday as the rivals played out a pulsating 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga. Here are the key talking points from the match:
1) Kovac's tactical masterclass
Borussia Dortmund manager Niko Kovac has often been chastized for playing an unappetizing brand of football but on Saturday, he pulled off a rabbit out of his hat as Dortmund shifted to a 4-4-1-1 structure off the ball which appeared to stifle the Bavarians in the first half while looking organized in defense.
The two banks of four narrowed the passing lanes between the lines, leaving Bayern's central players devoid of proper service as Harry Kane had a rather quite opening half. Meanwhile, the back-four remained steady against their wide players and prevented openings in transitions too.
2) Serhou Guirassy breaks Der Klassiker jinx
Since joining Dortmund in 2024, Guirassy had fired a blank in five consecutive Der Klassiker appearances against Bayern Munich. We discussed how this had become a cause for concern within the BVB camp but on Saturday, the striker put an end to it with a goal in the second half which brought them level in the match and eventually helped seal a point.
In the 59th minute, Carney Chukwuemeka found space to run into on the left and squared it for Guirassy, who slid in between three red shirts to connect with it and slipped a shot at the near post for 1-1. At long last, the duck was broken, and Guirassy finally had his first goal in the Der Klassiker. It also ends his five-game goalless run in the Bundesliga.
3) Dortmund supersubs to the rescue, again
Dortmund had lost much of the control they had in the first half after the break with Bayern on the attacking foot and showing more initiative going forward. Just six minutes after Guirassy's equalizer, Dayot Upamecano had put the German champions back in front too as the Black and Yellow found themselves trailing in the tie again.
But cometh the hour, cometh the substitutes, and Kovac rolled the dice once more which lifted them out of the lurch. Silva popped up with the equalizer in the 89th minute, assisted by his fellow substitute Konstantinos Karetsas, to rescue Dortmund's blushes. For the umpteenth time this season already, the BVB subs have made a big difference late on; it's become their underrated superpower at this point.
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