The meaning of Der Klassiker has changed significantly down the years. Having been a zenith fixture of Bayern Munich v current challenger of substance in the past, it is now set in stone in the post-Klopp years as the Rekordmeister v Borussia Dortmund, that branding remaining even with BVB having largely morphed from genuine challenger to most frequent irritant.
There is a comforting regularity to it. The opener in Dortmund as autumn turns to winter, the April return in Munich and, so often, the arena in which BVB dreams of bigger and better are turned to mulch. The 5-0 at Allianz Arena in spring 2019 which was done and dusted inside the first 20 minutes, holding BVB’s title charge in check. Bayern’s win here in 2020 in front of no fans, snuffing out any home hopes of the Bundesliga just days after the post-Covid resumption. This time last year, it was Harry Kane’s hat-trick in his first Klassiker that told Dortmund the longings for putting right their loss of the title on the final day of 2022-23 were not rooted in reality.
