Borussia Dortmund have won the weekend’s top encounter against Bayern München - it was the Bavarian side's first loss of the season. Thomas Tuchel’s side started particularly well and in the end won the clash 1-0. This victory has allowed BVB to rise to third in the Bundesliga table, just three points behind Bayern and six behind table-toppers RB Leipzig. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got the only goal of the game to fire Dortmund to their first win over Bayern for almost two-and-a-half years.
Tuchel put out an attacking side, with Aubameyang and Adrian Ramos partnering each other upfront. World Champions André Schürrle and Mario Götze also started for BVB. Marco Reus wasn’t available after he had to postpone his comeback due to heel problems. Meanwhile, Bayern had to do without the injured Arjen Robben, as they surrended first place in the Bundesliga table after 425 days and 39 matchdays at the top.
After a minute’s silence before the game to remember BVB legend Aki Schmidt, who died on the 11th of November, it seemed the two teams would take a long time settling into the match. However, Aubameyang didn’t read the script and scored from close-range after just twelve minutes, after Mario Götze nutmegged Mats Hummels before setting up his goal.
Dortmund counter, Bayern out of ideas
It could not have gone any better for Dortmund. With a back line of five and three centre backs, Dortmund were quite prepared for Bayern to have the majority of possession and to counter quickly. Schürrle came close to adding a second in the 19th minute and tested Neuer shortly afterwards with a fierce volley.
Bayern played in a 4-3-3- system but found it difficult to get the ball near the BVB goal. The biggest areas they were lacking in were tempo and precision and although they looked dangerous on occasion, it was Dortmund’s errors that provided them with most of their opportunities. Bayern also struggled to build any momentum in midfield when things were getting tricky without the presence of Arturo Vidal.
FC Bayern increased the pressure in the second half, forcing Dortmund to keep men back in defence. The record-holding champions looked even more dangerous when Douglas Costa came on for Joshua Kimmich.
The guests nearly celebrated scoring an equaliser just after the break but Ribéry’s goal was ruled offside in the 55th minute. Shortly afterwards, Xabi Alonso hit the crossbar with a shot from distance (61’). Suddenly, Borussia Dortmund had the chance to make it 2-0 out of nowhere. Aubameyang latched onto Alonso’s misplaced pass and had a go, however Manuel Neuer stood firm and parried his shot away (71’).
FC Bayern continued to get stronger throughout the game. However, they didn’t create any more goalscoring opportunities and the match ended 1-1.