Bayern Munich could not have hoped for a more emphatic return to form on Saturday. They welcomed apparent title rivals Borussia Dortmund to the Allianz Arena and quickly reverted back to their traditional role as Bundesliga champions-elect – perennial architects of doom for any domestic rival that dare question their authority.
It was fitting their new head coach, Thomas Tuchel, enjoyed a perfect start to life in Munich through the clinical finishing of Thomas Müller, whose back-post finish and instinctual rebound scored the second and third goals, after an opening howler from the Dortmund keeper, Gregor Kobel. Not only had Müller been marginalised by Tuchel’s predecessor, Julian Nagelsmann, but he was also one of a handful of senior figures within the Bayern squad who remained unconvinced by the young manager.
That lingering apathy turned sour and led to Bayern cutting their losses and opting for Tuchel in rather dramatic fashion during the international break.
Back in his preferred No 10 role behind the main striker, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Müller reclaimed his role as Bayern’s chief orchestrator in attack and all-round cheerleader when off the ball. Weaving between the lines and evading Dortmund’s dazzled defence, the 33-year-old epitomised the gulf in technical talent and mental fortitude between the two teams. Jürgen Klopp was still calling the shots on the sideline the last time Dortmund won a league game in Munich and Müller seemed adamant that Der Klassiker would remain one-sided as it has been in recent memory.
“Despite this 4-2, there wasn’t too much of a rebellion,” said Müller with a cheeky smile. Undoubtedly, he was referring to Dortmund’s brief stint at the top of the table and the clamour from all corners for a title race. Instead, Bundesliga fans around the world were left rolling their eyes at an utter implosion from Edin Terzic’s side in their biggest test of the season.
“I have no idea how the ball slipped through there,” said Kobel, asked how his comical inability to intercept a long ball down the pitch led to Dayot Upamecano inadvertently scoring from deep in his own half. “There are just shitty days. Today was one of those.”
"Kobel makes one of the biggest mistakes of his career!"
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 1, 2023
A goalkeeping howler in Der Klassiker! 🇩🇪pic.twitter.com/o0De7tH1Me
There was much more to Dortmund’s downfall, though, than a simple goalkeeping gaffe. It was rather telling that after Kobel’s mistake, the only Dortmund player to offer the keeper some condolence was Marius Wolf. The rest of the team looked stunned, paralysed, which goes some way to explaining why Bayern then tripled their lead in the space of 10 minutes.
“It took us too long to react to the setbacks and shake them off,” said Terzic. “After 23 minutes it was already 3-0. Then we still tried again in the second half to adjust a few things. But it’s the way it is. We have to get on the plane home very disappointed.”
While the odd goalkeeping mistake can be forgiven, the manner in which some Dortmundplayers – most notably Jude Bellingham and Marco Reus – went missing after the early setback is what would have frustrated the away supporters most. “We are all only human,” said Reus, in what sounded a poorly-rehearsed excuse. “Something like that doesn’t leave us unscathed. When you’re unlucky to be 1-0 down here and you go 2-0 down, then of course you don’t have that much self-confidence.”
Not exactly what any fan would want to hear from their club captain. Coincidentally, while Reus has been a tremendous servant for Dortmund since making the move from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012, he’s also indirectly become the face of one of European football’s most notable inferiority complexes. Saturday’s match – when Reus was substituted after 60 minutes, having failed to register a shot on target – was his seventh consecutive Bundesliga defeat to Bayern. The last time the Germany forward was on the winning end of this fixture in the league, his vice-captain was playing for Birmingham’s youth team.
That’s not to say Bayern had it all their own way. There’s no doubt Dortmund started the game strongly before donating their opponents at least two goals and once Terzic pulled off his misfiring stars in the second half, a new attacking line led by a rejuvenated Donyell Malen highlighted the complacencies that still lie in this Bayern team by scoring twice.
“We’re not going overboard,” said Tuchel, before complaining about his team’s frustrating tendency to give the ball away in the second half. Like all great managers, the new Bayern coach would have only enjoyed the result in its entirety had the team followed his instructions.
Dortmund may have crumbled before their domestic rivals, but Manchester City are unlikely to make things as easy in their Champions League quarter-final on 11 April.
Eintracht Frankfurt 1-1 Bochum, Bayern 4-2 Dortmund 2, Freiburg 1-1 Hertha Berlin, RB Leipzig 0-3 Mainz, Schalke 0-3 Leverkusen, Union Berlin 3-0 Stuttgart, Wolfsburg 2-2 Augsburg, Cologne 0-0 Gladbach; Werder Bremen 1-2 Hoffenheim.
Talking points
Bayern’s indifference to the challenge from Dortmund was perhaps best summed up by the news cycle quickly reverting back to Nagelsmann. Lothar Matthäus set the heather alight when he accused the Bayern CEO, Oliver Kahn, of lying and trampling on the club’s collective “Mia san Mia” ethos by not informing the previous head coach of his sacking before it leaked to the press. Kahn rejected the accusation, labelling Matthäus as Bayern’s “chief critic”. When asked if he’d try to resolve the row, Khan offered a blunt response: “I’m in Munich and can be reached at any time.”
The Union Berlin feelgood story rumbles on – the only other top-six side aside from Bayern to pick up all three points this weekend, after beating rock-bottom Stuttgart 3-0. Fears they would run out of steam in the second half of the season have eased, with Union stretching their unbeaten run to four games despite making six changes . The result now opens up a four-point gap on Freiburg in fourth place for Urs Fischer’s side, who are closing on the Champions League.
Stuttgart’s loss could herald the departure of Bruno Labbadia. The club hierarchy met on Sunday morning to discuss the 57-year-old’s future after a poor return to Bundesliga management with the VfB head coach picking up six points from 11 games. “When you’re on top, luck runs into you, when you’re on the bottom it’s the other way around,” said Labbadia after his side’s defeat in the capital. The Stuttgart sports director, Fabian Wohlgemuth, was far more direct: “We will not sit idly by and watch the downfall.”
Stefan Bienkowski is a freelance football writer
Andy Brassell is away this week
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 26 | 47 | 55 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 26 | 22 | 53 |
| 3 | Union Berlin | 26 | 13 | 51 |
| 4 | Freiburg | 26 | 4 | 47 |
| 5 | RB Leipzig | 26 | 16 | 45 |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 26 | 10 | 41 |
| 7 | Bayer Leverkusen | 26 | 8 | 40 |
| 8 | Mainz | 26 | 7 | 40 |
| 9 | Wolfsburg | 26 | 12 | 39 |
| 10 | Borussia M'gladbach | 26 | -4 | 32 |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 26 | -10 | 31 |
| 12 | Augsburg | 26 | -13 | 29 |
| 13 | Cologne | 26 | -11 | 28 |
| 14 | VfL Bochum | 26 | -29 | 26 |
| 15 | Hoffenheim | 26 | -11 | 25 |
| 16 | Hertha Berlin | 26 | -18 | 22 |
| 17 | Schalke 04 | 26 | -27 | 21 |
| 18 | Stuttgart | 26 | -16 | 20 |
