Match report
Full time: Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich
That’s it! Bayern move seven points clear with a hard-fought win in Der Klassiker. There wasn’t much in it, but Bayern had a bit more assurance and a lot more authority than Dortmund. The outstanding Joshua Kimmich won the game with a delicious chip just before half-time, though Dortmund’s keeper Roman Burki will probably feel he should have done better.
It won’t be confirmed until June, but trust me, Bayern have won their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title. Based on their performances since Christmas, they are a decent bet for a sixth European Cup as well. Thanks for your company, goodnight!
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90+1 min Lewandowski appeals unsuccessfully for a penalty after being eased off the ball by Hakimi.
90 min Three minutes of added time. Dortmund look resigned to defeat.
89 min Muller’s close-range volley is brilliantly blocked by Guerreiro.
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88 min It’s now or next season for Dortmund.
87 min Another Bayern change: Gnabry off, Javi Martinez on.
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86 min Ah, ignore me: Dortmund made two of their changes at half-time, which doesn’t count as one of their three blocks.
85 min Witsel does come on to replace Dahoud, and Lucas Hernandez replaces Boateng for Bayern. I’m not sure Witsel should be allowed on the pitch, but I suppose he’s acting with integrity.
84 min Dortmund are preparing to bring on a fifth substitute, Axel Witsel. I thought substitutes had to be made in three blocks; if so, Dortmund have already used theirs.
83 min: Lewandowski hits the post! Bayern were inches away from the title. He ran to the edge of the D and shaped a left-footed curler that took a nick off Hummels, beat the diving Burki and rebounded off the far post.
81 min “I am a ‘neutral’, but my son’s support of Dortmund is quite intense,” says Jake Shaffer. “While I lapped up the beauty of Kimmich’s finish, my son couldn’t see anything except all the mistakes Dortmund made that lead up to the goal. Got me thinking: is it better to see a goal against your club as a breakdown of game fundamentals OR to see a goal as a piece of one-time magic woven by the other team? I realise the truth is in the grey area inbetween, but when has truth ever inconvenienced a diehard football supporter?”
It’s a good point, this. One of my favourite goals against Manchester United was Gabriel Batistuta’s preposterous screamer in 2000. It was years before I realised that, while it did swerve, it was essentially straight at Mark Bosnich.
80 min Dahoud’s fierce shot from 20 yards is beaten away by the falling Neuer. He almost moved too far across his line but was able to reach up and slap it away from goal.
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80 min Dortmund make their final change: former Bayern player Mario Gotze, who will be leaving Dortmund at the end of the season, replaces Piszczek.
79 min Hakimi’s low cross is cleared at the near post by Alaba. This is Dortmund’s best spell since the first 15 minutes of the game.
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77 min Sancho has adjusted to the pace of the game and looks like Dortmund’s biggest threat. He starts a good move that leads to Hazard missing a great chance from six yards, though he was miles offside so it would have been VARed.
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75 min Guerreiro smacks the free-kick straight into the loving embrace of Manuel Neuer.
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74 min Davies is booked for a foul on Reyna, 22 yards from goal. Bayern are fuming because Davies did get something on the ball.
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73 min Bayern make a change: Ivan Perisic replaces Coman.
73 min Piszczek, who has had a fine game, makes a vital interception at the near post to deny Pavard.
72 min A Dortmund change: Giovanni Reyna replaces Haaland, who is limping round towards the bench. It’s been a chastening night for him.
71 min Sancho finds a bit of space down the left for the first time. He teases Boateng and curls a dangerous ball that flashes across the face of goal and behind for a goalkick. Neuer let it go, in fairness.
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69 min Can’s long-range shot is blocked on the edge of the area. Dortmund are having more of the game now, though there’s often a lack of conviction in their attacing play. The wing-backs, Guerreiro and Hakimi, have played well; the front three have not.
68 min “I know you’re joking about Haaland,” says Niall Mullen, “but I do love a flat track bully.”
67 min Dahoud is booked for a lunge at Kimmich, who punches the ground in pain. Dahoud won the ball on the stretch and then followed through into Kimmich’s ankle. Replays show that it was quite clearly a fair tackle/yellow card/red card offence.
66 min Muller is booked for a late tackle on Akanji. The first part of the second half has flown by, and all of a sudden Bayern are 24 minutes away from a seven-point lead.
62 min Corner to Dortmund. Nothing comes of it, but this is a better spell for Dortmund.
60 min “I’m sure I’m among the many responding to Woolie Madden,” says Martin Wiele. “Canada is one of the host nations for World Cup 2026 meaning Alphonso Davies will very likely get his World Cup appearance (as brief as Canada’s stay in the tournament may be...)”
Oh lordy, I’d forgotten about that as well. But I acted with integrity when I responded to Woolie’s email, and I was trying to limit the spread of my ignorance.
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58 min Haaland’s shot deflects wide off the arm of Boateng. There’s no VAR check, as far as I’m aware, but that could easily have been a penalty. Boateng was on all fours on the six-yard line when Haaland’s shot hit him on the side of the arm, so goodness knows what that means in terms of unnatural positions. The odd thing is that Dortmund didn’t appeal.
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58 min Sancho hasn’t been in the game since coming on. Bayern have quietly battered Dortmund since half-time.
57 min “Haaland has not been very good has he?” says Stefan Volkmann. “Everything is breaking down when it gets to him. He looks like a clanky robot that needs oiling. He’ll score now of course.”
Let’s just pronounce him a flat-track bully and get it over with.
56 min Dortmund need more from Haaland, who has struggled to hold the ball up all night. From memory, he had a similar problem against Liverpool in the Champions League.
54 min: Good save from Burki! Two more chances for Bayern. First Burki plunged to his right to palm Goretzka’s low shot away; then Hummels made a vital interception at the near post as Gnabry cut the ball back to Lewandowski.
53 min Lewandowski plays a one-two with Muller and belts a 20-yard shot that is well blockled by Hummels. Then Coman’s dangerous cross is palmed away desperately by the diving Burki. Bayern are playing with such authority.
53 min “I watched this game for five minutes before it occurred to me that the fan noise was fake,” says Luke Jones. “If you didn’t know the stands were empty, you’d never suspect the noise wasn’t real.”
There’s a mural for that.
52 min The next goal is of mighty importance. If Bayern score it, the title race is surely done.
51 min Bayern have had the full strut on since half-time. This is looking pretty ominous for Dortmund.
49 min Dahoud shoots straight at Neuer from distance.
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49 min “Daniel Sturridge with an underrated entry into greatest edge-of-the-box chips here,” says Niall Mullen.
He has a helluva portfolio of goals, that lad. At some stage in the next few years, some pompous arse is going to write a 10,000-word piece lamenting his lost talent; probably me.
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47 min Pavard clips a fine pass over Akanji to release Coman down the right. He has Lewandowski unmarked in the middle but overhits his cross. Dortmund got away with one there.
47 min “Hello Rob,” says Woolie Madden. “What a fine day for a bit of association football. The Haaland vs Davies battle is great. The future of football represented right there - but it’s quite possible, even probable, that we won’t see either play in a World Cup.”
You say that, but Norway and Canada might make it to Gianni Infantino’s 256-team tournament in 2030.
46 min Peep peep! Bayern begin the second half. Dortmund have made a double change: Jadon Sancho and Emre Can replace Julian Brandt and Thomas Delaney.
“Keeper, surely?” says Niall Mullen.
Yeah, the more I see it the more I think he should have saved it. But anyone who isn’t a sucker for a disguised chip from a diminutive midfield player is an enemy of life.
Half time: Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich
Peep peep! Bayern are 45 minutes away from a seven-point lead - and an eighth straight championship. Joshua Kimmich’s delicious chip gave Bayern the lead at the end of an intense and intriguing first half; on reflection Roman Burki might have done better, but it was a masterful bit of play from Kimmich. See you in 10 minutes to see whether Dortmund can save the 2019-20 title race.
44 min I reckon if Pep Guardiola could clone one player in world football, with a view to having seven or eight of him in Manchester City’s starting XI, it would be Joshua Kimmich.
That is pure class. After a long spell of Bayern pressure, Kimmich collected a loose ball 20 yards from goal, looked up and kissed a delightful chip towards goal. The backpeaddling Burki got a good touch on to the ball as he leapt desperately towards his own goal, but it was not strong enough and the ball dropped into the net.
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GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Bayern Munich (Kimmich 43)
Joshua Kimmich gives Bayern the lead with a glorious goal!
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42 min Goretzka appeals hopefully for a penalty after being eased out of his stride by the arm of Delaney. The referee isn’t interested.
41 min Kimmich’s corner from the right bounces dangerously across the area. Dortmund are starting to look a little edgy, and I fear for them if Bayern score first.
40 min A right-wing cross is headed away to Goretzka, 30 yards from goal. He waits for the ball to bounce and cuts across a sweet strike that is punched away by Burki. It was close enough to the keeper for it to be a comfortable enough save.
39 min Davies beats two players on the edge of the area with a charming little zig-zag. For a second it looks like he’s through, but Hummels comes across to ease him off the ball.
39 min “I expect the crowd noise is taken from the second option supplied by Sky Germany,” says Paul. “You can either watch the match and enjoy the deranged shouting of coaches, players etc., or have the background noise of a Dortmund crowd. I liked the old option better where you could tune out the commentator and have the ‘real’ stadium noise as background.”
Shame you can’t do that with liveblogs really.
37 min Dortmund have had a lot of success with switches of play, particularly out to Guerreiro on the left.
35 min Dahoud plays an excellent pass to find Brandt in space on the right wing. He tries to guide a first-time cross into the space behind the Bayern defence but gets too much on it. Goalkick to Bayern.
34 min Lewandowski’s lovely dummy allows Coman’s pass to run through to Muller, but Piszczek comes across to make a fine interception. Despite the lack of clear chances, this is excellent stuff.
33 min: Great defending from Davies!Haaland gets away from Alaba and rumbles into the area. He’s about to shoot - and almost certainly score - when Davies appears from nowhere to make a vital interception. Davies’s acceleration is frightening.
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32 min Another opportunity for Dortmund. Hakimi’s deep cross is headed down by Hummels towards Brandt, who can’t deal with an awkward bounce on the six-yard line. Hummels, as Owen Hargreaves points out on BT Sport, should probably have headed the ball back across goal.
30 min Hazard plays a good return pass to Haaland on the left side of the area. He screws a left-footed shot that hits Davies and deflects safely across to the far side. It wasn’t a clean strike from Haaland, who looks frustrated with himself.
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30 min “The announcers keep talking about hearing everything the players say, yet all I hear is cheering and chanting and singing, that the players can’t hear,” says Joe Pearson. “Also, Dortmund’s passing has been surprisingly sloppy.”
Yes, I thought they started excellently but have made some bad choices in the final third in the last 20 minutes or so.
29 min Lewandowski is moving gingerly after a collision with Piszczek. I think he’s okay.
28 min Haaland’s attempted scissor kick from the edge of the area slices off the side of his leg. Moments later, Brandt’s dipping cross from the left towards Haaland is superbly headed away by Alaba.
26 min A superb tackle from Piszczek on Lewandowski allows Dortmund to break dangerously. Eventually Brandt delays on the edge of the area before finding Dahoud, who can’t decide what to do with the ball and in the end does nothing.
25 min “Hi Rob,” says Shafath. “The fake crowd noise is not that bad actually. They seem to be in sync with what is going on in the match and does seem to create a match ‘atmosphere’. Much better than the hollow sound of something being played in the actual stadium.”
The plot thickens. I’ll see if I can find a stream with noise for the Leverkusen game later.
24 min Coman’s stinging shot from the right side of the area is beaten away by Burki. Bayern are getting closer. It was a comfortable enough save for Burki, because the angle was so tight, but it was a beautiful strike.
23 min “Dear Rob,” says Nelson Kalberer. “The fake fan noises ruin the atmosphere of these games. It’s so obviously fake and just not an accurate portrayal of how the game is played and how it sounds. As someone who wrote a 4,000-word paper on the impact of fans on the pitch, simply putting noises to replicate fans does nothing to the tension of the matches. I’d much prefer to listen to the players shout at each other than fake fan sounds and TV companies should either give an option for fake atmospheres or simply stop using them.”
I suspect I would agree with approximately 100 per cent of your email had I seen (and heard) one of these matches. I don’t see the point.
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22 min After a slow start, Bayern are starting to look dangerous.
19 min: Piszczek clears off the line from Gnabry! It’s 1-1 in goalline clearances. Coman, on the right side of the area, found Gnabry with a speculative cross on the turn. He got the ball out of his feet and drove it low past Burki, but Piszczek kicked it off the line. His anticipation and positioning were immaculate.
18 min Dortmund work the ball from right to left and then back again. But then Kimmich nicks the ball with a beautifully judged interception. He’s such a class act.
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17 min “Hi Rob,” says Matt Burtz. “I’ve missed the MBMs during all the pandemic and this game is a perfect diversion on a Tuesday morning here in the U.S. Personally, I don’t mind the lack of a crowd and the piped-in noise. What say you?”
While I don’t think it’s sustainable, the lack of a crowd been a lot less off-putting than I expected. Maybe that’s because I’m used to watching cricket. I haven’t watched a match with an artificial atmosphere, though, and am not in a hurry to do so.
15 min A good spell of possession for Bayern, who are playing more like the home side. Coman ruins it all with an overhit pass to Muller.
13 min Hummels is booked for a tactical foul on Coman.
12 min Kimmich floats a glorious ball from the left that just evades the leaping Muller on the six-yard line and runs through to Burki. I think Muller might have deliberately left it, presumably in an attempt to dummy Burki. It would have been a touch of genius had it worked; it didn’t.
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11 min Lewandowski’s cross shot from the edge of the area is comfortably saved by Burki.
10 min: Hazard has a goal disallowed for offside. He knew it, in fairness, and there were no complaints. It was Hakimi who was offside in the build-up. There was a big chance just before that, when Haaland’s close-range shot was blocked by Boateng after good play from Hakimi and Hazard. Dortmund look good and have exploited the space behind Alaba and Davies three or four times already.
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8 min Haaland wins a corner for Dortmund on the right. It’s headed away at the near post.
7 min “Is somebody DJ-ing fake crowd noise?” asks Joe Pearson.
I think some TV companies are piping it in, though my BT Sport feed is mercifully free of such silliness.
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5 min Lewandowski moves into the area and drills a shot that is well blocked by the stretching Hummels. This has been a terrific start.
4 min Delaney’s brilliant crossfield pass finds Guerreiro, who knocks it back from the byline towards Brandt on the left edge of the area. He moves the ball onto his right foot and whips a curler that is too close to Neuer, who makes a comfortable save. Lovely play from Dortmund though.
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3 min It’s been an assured start from Dortmund, with some neat, snappy passing.
30 seconds: Boateng clears off the line from Haaland! Crikey, that was almost a sensational start. Neuer came out of his area to beat Hazard to Brandt’s through ball. Haaland picked up the loose ball and slid it through the legs of Neuer with his left foot, but Boateng was waiting on the line to boot it clear.
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1 min Peep peep! Dortmund, in yellow, kick off from left to right. Bayern are in red. It’s the El Klassiker!
The players emerge on a very pleasant evening in Dortmund: 19 degrees, a clear sky and light winds, 2 per cent chance of rain. What more could we want?
Dortmund have suffered some brutal defeats by Bayern in the last five years (5-0, 4-1, 6-0, 5-0, 4-0), though all of those were in Munich. This, they will hope, is different. It needs to be, for the sake of the title race.
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Hot pre-match quiz action (Bayern fans, don’t bother)
Some pre-match reading
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Team news
Mats Hummels is fit to start, which is a big boost for Dortmund, but there’s a blow for little Englanders with the news that Jadon Sancho is only on the bench. In the absence of the injured Thiago, Bayern’s team is as expected.
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-2-1) Burki; Piszczek, Hummels, Akanji; Hakimi, Delaney, Dahoud, Guerreiro; Hazard, Brandt; Haaland.
Substitutes: Hitz, Sancho, Gotze, Balerdi, Morey, Can, Witsel, Schmelzer, Reyna.
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1) Neuer; Pavard, Boateng, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Coman, Muller, Gnabry; Lewandowski.
Substitutes: Ulreich, Ordriozola, Martinez, Cuisance, Perisic, Hernandez, Mai, Batista, Meier, Zirkzee.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of what Google Translate is calling The Classic. Yep, it’s time for Der Klassiker! Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich is a big one at any time – it’s got its own name and everything – but this meeting, a potential title decider, is the first mega match of football’s new era.
If Bayern win they will be seven points clear with six games to play, and within strutting distance of their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title. But if Dortmund win, the title race will be on with a vengeance – especially if RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen also close the gap by winning their midweek games.
There’s no Yellow Wall but there will be a frankly obscene amount of attacking talent on the pitch: Haaland and Lewandowski, Sancho Hazard and Gnabry, Guerreiro and Muller, Hakimi and Davies. Let us have it.
Kick off 5.30pm BST, 6.30pm CET
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