Man of the Match Poll: Dortmund Fall to Bayern Munich 4-2 at the Allianz Arena

After a fantastic first ten minutes in which Dortmund blitzed Bayern Munich with quick counters and clinical finishing, this game reverted to script, and Bayern dominated throughout. Despite fantastic play from Several BVB attackers, Bayern’s famous counter-press and strong midfield presence ultimately proved too much for a tired Die Schwarzgelben side. After allowing the Bavarians to draw level despite having a two goal lead, BVB kept the game at 2-2 by sitting back deep and defending. That changed in the 88’ minute when Leon Goretzka managed to volley home what proved to be the game-winning goal. To add insult to injury, two minutes later Robert Lewandowski scored to complete his hattrick. The game finished a 4-2 Bayern victory.

Erling Haaland

Dortmund owe their electric start to the match in large part to this man. Erling Haaland’s clinical finishing in front of goal was on full display as he finished both chances he had on Manuel Neuer’s net. Once he left the game due to a heal injury, BVB were left with no outlet to delay Bayern’s constant wave of attacking football. One can only imagine how different this game would’ve gone if he were able to play the full 90 minutes.

Mahmoud Dahoud

Despite giving up the penalty for Bayern’s second goal, Mahmoud Dahoud’s passing was absolutely special today. His cross-field ball to Nico Schulz to set-up Dortmund’s second goal was nothing short of world class, and he played a part in nearly every attack managed against the Bayern defense. If not for an incredible bit of last-ditch defending from Jerome Boateng which injured the defender in the process, Dahoud may have played Reus through on goal with a perfect through ball that could’ve taken the lead for the black and yellows. He was fantastic today, just as he has been for the past month.

Marco Reus

For the first 30 minutes of the game, Marco Reus looked like his old self again. He was beating defenders, completing inch-perfect passes, and pressing with speed. He slowed down slightly toward the second half, but his performance was still strong throughout, and deserving of the captain’s armband.

Nico Schulz

I could, and probably should put Emre Can here, but Nico Schulz put in an admirable shift replacing Raphael Guerreiro. He was quick on the ball, strong in defense, and after Haaland left the match, he was the only attacking outlet Dortmund had at times. He was good against Bayern, and if Schulz can pick up enough form to give Guerreiro more time to rest, it will only make BVB stronger toward the end of the season. Also compared to Thomas Meunier, Schulz looked like Roberto Carlos Saturday.