Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a see-saw encounter, as Robert Lewandowski scored his record-extending 30th and 31st goals in ‘Der Klassiker’ to move the Bundesliga champions four points ahead of their rivals at the summit.
In front of just 15,000 fans at Signal Iduna Park due to Covid-19 restrictions, Julian Brandt put Dortmund ahead within five minutes. Jude Bellingham’s gorgeous pass found the Germany international, and he showed superb composure to take a touch, shift the ball inside Alphonso Davies and fire home.
However, no sooner had Dortmund taken the lead, they were pegged back. Thomas Müller charged down Mats Hummels’ attempted clearance on the halfway line and, although an awkward bounce meant Müller could not keep the ball under control, in steamed Lewandowski to brush off his Ballon d’Or snub and finish with customary ease. Erling Braut Haaland’s first sight of goal came on 29 minutes, but the Norwegian’s drive drifted just wide.
Bayern turned the contest around on the stroke of HT, as Alphonso Davies’ square pass into the box broke to Raphaël Guerreiro. The Portuguese’s attempted clearance cannoned off Hummels and fell to Kingsley Coman, who buried the chance via a deflection off Reus.
‘Die Schwarzgelben’ re-emerged after the break with renewed vigour and equalised almost immediately, inevitably through Haaland. Thomas Meunier’s clipped cross should have been dealt with comfortably by Dayot Upamecano, but instead the centre-back shovelled the ball into Bellingham’s path and the teenager laid it off to the striking sensation, who bent his shot in brilliantly off the far post.
Marco Rose was then incensed as he thought Reus should have won a penalty following a Lucas Hernandez challenge, receiving a booking for his protests, before Hummels’ difficult afternoon got even worse as he was controversially penalised for handball from Serge Gnabry’s corner following a VAR check. Lewandowski squeezed the spot-kick in and Rose’s temper got the better of him after that decision as he was given a second yellow, with his side ultimately coming up just short in a thrilling contest.
Julian Nagelsmann’s men now head back home for a Champions League tie against Barcelona on Wednesday as they aim to make it six wins from six in Group E, while Dortmund face a dead rubber against Beşiktaş with their passage into the Europa League already assured.
