The noise and hype around Der Klassiker was worth it with both side keenly contesting the game from the first blast of the whistle to the final one.
Borussia Dortmund have suffered their first defeat in their last seven Bundesliga matches on Tuesday against Bayern Munich.
With the defeat, it will take something of a miracle to see the Black and Yellow side edge out Bayern for the title. Here are a few of interesting talking points we picked up from the game.
THE EARLY PRESSURE
Borussia Dortmund unsettled Bayern Munich in the opening stages of the game, creating two goal scoring opportunities but failed to take advantage of any.
Erling Haaland was first to hit the target after a blunder from Manuel Neuer, but his weak effort was cleared off the line by Jerome Boateng. Julian Brandt also had his effort from close range saved by the Bayern shot-stopper after finding space just outside the 18-yard-box.
Dortmund looked to have pushed the Bavarians into a tight corner but their sloppiness in front of goal let Bayern off the hook.
IMPRESSIVE DISPLAY BY ROMAN BURKI
Roman Burki was just as great as any keeper could dream of against a Star-studded Bayern frontline. The keeper was on hand to parry away many efforts from the away side.
Burki was unfortunate to have conceded the goal from Joshua Kimmich as he could have done better, but his overall performance looked good and encouraging to keep a decent scoreline for Dortmund.
A ‘DEAD’ RIGHT FLANK
Achraf Hakimi and Thorgan Hazard who had been in great form prior to this encounter were outclassed by Alphonso Davies.
Nothing seemed to be working for both players as they struggled to create opportunities for the lonely Erling Haaland.
Hazard was only fortunate enough to have lasted the whole 90 minutes on the pitch. His passes in the final third looked awful and often caught ‘sleeping on duty.’
PISZCZEK – ‘THE FINE WINE’
The defender keeps getting better each and every time with his display being likened to a fine wine, which gets better as it gets old.
At age 35, Lukasz Piszczek looked like the healthiest Dortmund player on the pitch for the whole period he played. He made vital blocks for his side and was part of the reason Robert Lewandowski had a quite game.
His interceptions and quest to be at the right place at the right time saved Dortmund from going down early, a goal which eventually happened in the final stages of the first half.
WRONG TIMING FOR SUBSTITUTIONS
Lucien Favre’s decision to bring off Thomas Delaney and Julian Brandt really harmed Dortmund in the second half of the game.
The pair despite having a quite game were growing into the game at the latter part of the first 45 minutes and could have had impact after the recess.
Emre Can and Jadon Sancho looked a shadow of themselves as they did little to spark Dortmund’s furst half energy. Their impact in the game was minimal and did no harm to the scoreline as the club’s title chances hit a snag.
