Counter-Attacking Brilliance Gives Borussia Dortmund Victory Over Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund had never won the Allianz Arena before Saturday, and hadn’t beaten Bayern Munich at the record champions’ home stadium for twenty years. That all changed in the span of ninety minutes, as Jürgen Klopp’s team added another emphatic win to a spectacular championship season with a 3-1 victory over the record champions.

The match began with a flurry of goals: Lucas Barrios put BVB ahead after just nine minutes, only for Luis Gustavo to equalize with his first goal for Bayern seven minutes later from a set piece. The hosts poured forward after leveling the match and looked likely to take the lead, only for a Dortmund counter to end with Nuri Sahin smashing a fantastic curling strike beyond Thomas Kraft to restore the visitors’ advantage.

The first half was played at an incredibly high tempo, and Bayern thought they were even again on twenty-six minutes when Thomas Müller put Mario Gómez through; the Bundesliga’s top scorer slotted in past back-up goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak, but the flag was up for a close and somewhat dubious offside. Bayern kept forcing the issue in the final twenty minutes of the first half, and Franck Ribéry created a pair of good chances that were spurned by FCB from pull-backs from near the byline.

The Bavarians seemed to lack a bit of belief after throwing so much at Dortmund in the first half, and the second forty-five minutes were played at a decidedly lower tempo. Part of this also was due to Klopp’s side sitting deeper and playing a more conservative game after the interval. They defended well in the second half, and one of the stars of their season got his reward for a great campaign in some style; Mats Hummels, the Bayern academy product, made it 3-1 from a Mario Götze corner with a half-hour to play and ran off to the corner to celebrate with the jubliant away support.

Toni Kroos and Miroslav Klose came on in the second half for the defending champions, but the former’s excellent passing came too late, while the latter made no impact in his twelve minutes on the pitch. Victory for Dortmund moves them thirteen points clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who visit Werder Bremen tomorrow. Bayern’s defeat means they will remain in fourth, behind Hannover 96, ahead of a huge clash with Mirko Slomka’s side next week for the third Champions League place.