Rampant Dortmund vanquish champions Bayern
Munich - Borussia Dortmund took the Klassiker spoils thanks to an emphatic 3-0 win over ten-man FC Bayern München at the Allianz Arena.
Mkhitaryan strikes first
BVB settled quickly and took a deserved lead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan, with quick-fire second half goals from Marco Reus and Jonas Hofmann rounding out a comfortable evening’s work, before Rafinha picked up a needless red card in injury time.
Jürgen Klopp sprang a surprise by naming Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang ahead of soon-to-be Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski in a starting XI that showed five changes to the side that beat Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League. The pacey Gabon international’s inclusion certainly had its merits, with Bayern’s malleable defensive line taken aback somewhat by the visitors’ uncompromising approach in the opening exchanges.
BVB’s 20th-minute opener was symptomatic of the champions’ shaky start and there was no surprise to see Aubameyang involved when it came. The 24-year-old flicked a long throw into the path of Reus, who in turn slid across goal for the unmarked Mkhitaryan to rifle in his seventh Bundesliga goal of the season.
Dortmund take charge
It was the fourth time in as many games that Bayern had fallen behind, but it wasn’t until late in the half that the men in red offered up any sort of meaningful response. Rafinha’s asking cross was met by the boot of leading scorer Mario Mandzukic, who at last brought a smart, albeit routine, save out of BVB goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller.
Bayern’s efforts weren’t helped by an injury to Manuel Neuer, although there was nothing his replacement, Bundesliga debutant Lukas Raeder, could do to prevent his side falling further behind. The 20-year-old had barely had a touch when Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang teed up Reus for Dortmund’s second, before Hofmann followed suit, taking advantage of some woeful Bayern defending to make it three in the 56th minute.
Mandzukic denied
Pep Guardiola called on Thomas Müller and Toni Kroos as Bayern attempted to give an already emphatic scoreline a shade of respectability. Mandzukic should have at least found the target following a slalom run from ex-Dortmund hero Mario Götze, before Bastian Schweinsteiger fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
Despite seeing far more of the ball in central areas, Bayern were almost undone by another long ball over the top, with only Raeder’s steel-like palms denying Aubameyang on the break. Mandzukic had a goal ruled out for offside and a decent hit from Kroos made Weidenfeller work, but a positive finish ended on a sour note when Rafinha saw red as the treble winners fell to their first league defeat at the Allianz Arena since October 2012.
Line-ups and statistics
Christopher Mayer-Lodge
Take another look at BVB's goals at the Allianz Arena on the official Bundesliga YouTube channel:
