Bayern vs. Dortmund Summary

Introduction

Bayern and Dortmund played against each other in a big rivalry match for the Bundesliga on Saturday. Dortmund has been in somewhat good form with summer signings Karim Adeyami and Anthony Modeste doing well up front. Bayern also made some big name signings such as Liverpool’s Sadio Mane. Both teams were expected by now to be in the lead but are in fact trailing in third and fourth place. This Saturday’s game included a lot of entertainment and I will summarize the match and how I felt both teams performed

Where are Dortmund and Bayern in the table?

Der Klassiker (“The Classic”) is a historic rivalry match between two of the biggest teams in Germany, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. These two teams faced off in an intense battle to get ahead of one another in the Bundesliga table. Surprisingly to many, both teams are sitting below the top three spot which is a rare occurrence as Bayern and Dortmund are usually always dominant in their respective league. The two teams above them, Union Berlin and SC Freiburg, on paper should not be in the position they are in. Union Berlin is a relatively new team in the Bundesliga being promoted only a couple of years ago in the 2018/19 season while SC Freiburg hasn’t seen a top five spot in almost a decade. Berlin has produced some great talent this season with their marksman, Sheraldo Becker, scoring 7 goals and 4 assists in just 12 matches. Freiburg has also seen one of their players, Michael Gergoritsch, outperform this season with 6 goals and 1 assist in 11 matches played. Besides stats alone these two teams have seen almost all their players in great form which will definitely make it difficult for Bayern and Dortmund to get the better of them.

Match Highlights

That being said, Saturday’s game was a big statement for both Dortmund and Bayern as the winner would’ve jumped to first and or second place. Dortmund, who was home for the rival match, had been on a eight consecutive losing streak against Bayern. Although Der Klassiker is known as a big rivalry match, every Der Klassiker in the last couple years has been Bayern dominating and capitalizing off of Dortmund’s weak defense. For the last decade, Bayern has won the Bundesliga consecutively with Dortmund trailing right behind them. This season however, it is looking like Dortmund wants to finally end this embarrassing streak and give their fans some hope. Saturday’s game did not disappoint and was packed with action right when the whistle was blown. The first half was rough for Dortmund as they went down a goal, it was a tough one to concede as Dortmund’s defense was not ready for 19 year old Jamal Musiala’s footwork and lay off to Leon Goretzka who sent a piledriver into the net. Later in the half, Bayern’s superstar left back Alphonso Davies went in for a tackle against Jude Bellingham and clashed heads, unfortunately Davies was subbed off soon after and did not look well. I am hoping Davies will come back soon and strong so he will be able to represent Canada in the World Cup. Not soon after the second half whistle was blown, Dortmund took another hard blow when they conceded again with a cracking shot by Bayern’s Leroy Sane and Dortmund’s goalie, Alexander Meyer, getting a hand on it but not enough to keep it out. It seemed as if it was heading to another loss for Dortmund in Der Klassiker as they were not being creative enough in attack. Eventually, Dortmund started to get a hold of the game when their new signings Karim Adeyami and Anthony Modeste came on, with Modeste assisting the 17 year old Youssoufa Moukoko in the 74th minute. After Dormtund’s first goal they took charge of the rest of the game, dominating possession and shots on goal. Modeste in the 86th minute missed a very crucial chance, it was a great cross by Adeyami but Modeste could not get his foot behind it in time. After that chance, I think everyone in Dortmund’s stadium including me thought the game was over. Luckily for them though a dramatic finish was only right to end after Modeste redeemed himself with a 95 minute header to tie the game. This ended Bayern’s consecutive winning streak over Dortmund and kept Bayern right above Dortmund in the league table with both teams having 16 points. Overall, this game definitely caught me off guard as I assumed just like anyone else that Dortmund was going to receive another loss from a confident Bayern side.

Team Performances

This game was a lot of fun to watch but I can’t help but notice Dortmund’s slow start and Bayern’s lazy finish. These two teams are both in the Champions League which means they face top level teams from all around Europe, so it should come as no surprise that they are both used to big games and know how to control pressure well. This Saturday’s game however felt like both teams had lost that control in both halves. Dortmund, who was home, started very slowly and could not seem to get their attacks organized and or keep possession for long. Bayern overall dominated the first half besides a couple moments of magic by Jude Bellingham of Dortmund. When the second half started it seemed hopeful for Dortmund at first but then they conceded a goal by Leroy Sane who struck it with power but could’ve easily been saved by Dortmund’s goalie. This second goal definitely impacted the rest of the game because right after Adeyami came on and not long afterwards Anthony Modeste came on. These two players for Dortmund changed their attack very quickly, they both clearly boosted Dortmund’s confidence and got more attacking plays going. Around the 70th minute Modeste put a ball across for 17 year old Youssoufa Moukoko, who had been quiet all game but was able to capitalize and get within reach of the scoreline. Once Dortmund scored, it became their game, they had almost completely changed from what they looked like in the first half. They all were confident moving forward and were passing around Bayern making them tired and making it unable for Bayern to create any chances. In the 89th minute Adeyami put a beautiful ball across the box for Anthony Modeste to tap in but unfortunately for him he completely misjudged the ball and Bayern’s goalie Neuer was able to save it. After that I had become fully confident that it was going to end 2-1 Bayern, Bayern had controlled the game up until these last 10-20 minutes and Dortmund’s confidence seemed to be coming to an end. Out of nowhere though winger, Kingsley Coman, who had come on in the second half made two very unnecessary challenges which he got yellow carded for both and had him sent off in the 90th minute. Coman must’ve assumed the game was over anyways. This was the furthest thing from the truth as Dortmund really wanted to capitalize off of an extra man. In the 95th minute with Dormtund’s goalie up they crossed it one more time and Modeste who had that blunder earlier redeemed himself and saved his team from another embarrassing loss at home. It was one of the most dramatic finishes I’ve seen in a long time and I couldn’t help but smile for Dortmund and their fans. However, I did feel for Bayern but they had written their own downfall. Bayern completely lost all passion and aggressiveness when they scored their second goal, it was like they decided to sit back and observe Dortmund. Bayern had some chances but in reality were not enough to save them from the tie, I can definitely imagine this game being a hard watch for Bayern fans. Overall, both teams look confident and have a lot of potential for the rest of the season but need to focus on retaining consistency. 

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