Bayern Munich 4-2 Borussia Dortmund
Ahead of this teatime clash, I thought back to a classic quote from former England striker, now television presenter, Gary Lineker in 1990.
It was shortly after Germany defeated England in a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup semi-final that year when he ruefully uttered: ‘Football is a simple game – 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.’
That was exactly the thought I had before this top-of-the-table Bundesliga match – ‘Der Klassiker’ as some now refer to it, Germany’s equivalent to Spain’s El Clasico.
That is because this SBOTOP writer believes that, pretty much whatever the line-up, whatever the Bundesliga 2023 betting odds, Bayern Munich will nearly always prevail – if not over every 90 minutes than in the overall title race.
Highlights of the game
Of course, recruiting many of your rival club’s best players over the past decade or so has helped enormously.
And now, it seems, that approach is being followed by the manager.
Certainly, in Thomas Tuchel’s first match since succeeding the unfortunate Julian Nagelsmann (who had done little wrong), the outcome was never in doubt.
Borussia Dortmund fans can be forgiven for feeling upset, possibly angry, and somewhat disheartened after seeing another of their former alumni turning up in rival colours – the only difference for Tuchel is that he didn’t go straight across the divide.
Trailing his former club by a point at the top of the standings before kick-off, Tuchel said: ‘It’s not the time for big changes in systems or tactics’, suggesting pragmatism will define his early weeks in the job.
The short-term priority may be to strengthen a defence that had kept just two clean sheets in its past 10 games, suggesting the three-man defence he employed during his Chelsea tenure would be repeated, so there was no surprise when he named a back three featuring France internationals Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano alongside Matthijs de Ligt.
For Dortmund, yet to lose a match in 2023, this was the time for Edin Terzic’s men to deliver Bundesliga 2023 highlights and make a statement on the road.
They had destroyed Cologne last time out and their main news saw Julian Brandt return after two games out with a thigh strain, while Karim Adeyemi was back in the squad following injury and named on the bench.
However, the truth was they never looked like being at Bayern’s level.
The contest was over long before half-time and even two late goals for the visitors could not hide the fact they were well beaten.
Indeed, no other Bayern coach has seen his side score three goals as quickly in his Bundesliga debut for the Bavarians as Tuchel as the hosts netted three times without reply inside the opening 23 minutes.
The opener was bizarre and one goalkeeper Gregor Kobel will want to forget.
As Leroy Sane chased a long ball from Upamecano, the shot-stopper rushed out of his goal and completely miskicked his clearance, the ball taking a slight deflection off his leg and continuing into the empty net.
De Ligt met a Joshua Kimmich corner with a bullet header shortly afterwards and directed the ball into the path of Thomas Muller who doubled the hosts’ lead.
The experienced marksman then converted again after Kobel parried away a Sane effort.
Five minutes after the restart, Sane was again the provider as his inviting ball was converted by the alert Kingsley Coman.
The fact Emre Can netted a 72nd-minute consolation from the penalty spot before lively substitute Donyell Malen pulled another back in the final minute was irrelevant.
Dortmund may disagree after such a promising run but Bayern always beat them when it matters and are favourites to win an 11th Bundesliga title in a row.
Key statistics
Bayern have not lost at home to Dortmund in the Bundesliga since April 2014 – winning their last nine.
Until today, Dortmund had claimed 10 more points than Bayern across 10 Bundesliga matches in 2023, whilst scoring a league-high 30 goals in that time.
What’s next?
It’s the German Cup quarter-finals next for Bayern who face Freiburg on Tuesday (April 4) at home before travelling to the same opponents in the Bundesliga next Saturday.
Dortmund also have two big games in the seven days ahead.
They meet Leipzig in the quarter-finals on Wednesday night, in a repeat of the 2021 final, before hosting Union Berlin next Saturday in the league.
Freiburg and Union Berlin make up the top four in the Bundesliga.
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