Dortmund down Bayern as Leverkusen go 13 points clear

Borussia Dortmund ended their 11-game winless streak in the Der Klassiker as they beat Bayern Munich 2-0 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening. The result means that Thomas Tuchel’s side are now 13 points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen with eight games remaining and have virtually ceded their Bundesliga title. 

Karim Adeyemi opened the scoring for the visitors in the 10th minute with a fine shot in the bottom corner. Mats Hummels then dragged his shot just wide, missing the opportunity to give his side a 2-0 lead. Having fallen behind, Bayern did everything possible to get back in the game by dominating possession and looking to garner goal-scoring opportunities.

Harry Kane missed a glorious opportunity in the 23rd minute at the far post but the English striker inexplicably flicked his header wide from just six yards out. Eric Dier then had his effort saved right off the line as Dortmund went into the halftime whistle with their noses in front. 

Dortmund down Bayern in convincing style

Dortmund started confidently after the break and had two decent chances to extend their lead. First Mattias De Light slid in to present Adeyemi his second goal of the day and a minute later, Sven Ulreich made a stunning save to deny Felix Nmecha’s effort from inside the box. Tuchel made three attacking changes at the hour mark bringing on Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Mathys Tel. That certainly helped Bayern become more aggressive and stretched Dortmund on the wings. With seven minutes left, Dortmund finally doubled their lead after a period of constant Bayern pressure, as Julian Ryerson scored with a wonderful effort.  

Bayern did have the ball in the back of the net in the 89th minute as Kane headed in, but VAR intervened to chalk the goal off.

A frustrating night for the defending Champions finally came to an end as Dortmund won their first game at the Allianz Arena in almost 10 years, their last being in April 2014. The visitors, courtesy of the win, strengthened their hold in 4th place with 53 points, 3 ahead of RB Leipzig for a place in next season’s Champions League.

Tuchel admits the title race is over

Following the game, Tuchel conceded the Bundesliga title saying, “Congratulations to Leverkusen. After the game today there’s nothing left to say”. The manager who is set to leave his position in the summer admitted that the hopes of retaining the title are over. The German can now hope his side go all the way in the UEFA Champions League. A quarter-final matchup against Arsenal is due in the coming weeks.

This caps off a fine week for Leverkusen as manager Xabi Alonso committed his future to the club till 2025 and earlier on Saturday his side scored twice in the final minutes of the game against Hoffenheim to grab yet another three points. The league leaders were heading towards a first defeat when Maximilian Beier scored in the 33rd minute. However, Robert Andrich scored the equalizer in the 88th minute before Patrick Schick grabbed the winner in the first minute of stoppage time to keep Leverkusen’s brilliant run of form intact.

Photo: IMAGO / Eibner