DER KLASSIKER PLAYER RATINGS | Borussia Dortmund 2-3 Bayern Munich – A late Joshua Kimmich goal extends Bayern’s lead to 11 points | OneFootball

After a dismal midweek, Borussia Dortmund were looking to not end their season in the space of seven days and close the gap on Bayern Munich to five points to give hope of a potential title race.

Considering the performance of Niko Kovac’s side in midweek, the first half was a massive improvement; they brought the energy and intensity, and as the game went on, they grew into it too. 

The first big talking point of the half was Nico Schlotterbeck’s challenge on Josip Stanisic, in what was a studs-up challenge from the centre-back; he only received a yellow, and some could argue he was lucky not to be sent off. This is important, as six minutes later, the 26-year-old would give Dortmund the lead through a header, in what was their only shot on target in the first half (via FotMob). 

While Bayern were never able to truly trouble Gregor Kobel in the Dortmund goal, there were some nice counterattacking moves, but they all missed the end product. 

The second half included all the greatest hits of each team. In the 54th minute, Dortmund would throw away their lead when Harry Kane equalised to make it 1-1. Then Schlotterbeck would give away a penalty after following Stanisic, which the Englishman then scored to give Vincent Kompany’s side the lead. 

Kane’s penalty meant he has now scored 10 penalties in a Bundesliga season, a record that has not been broken in 45 years and was held by Gerd Müller.

Dortmund then threw the book at it in an attempt to keep the idea of a title race alive, and it paid off when Daniel Svensson made it 2-2 in the 83rd minute. However, four minutes later, Joshua Kimmich’s volley made it 3-2 to win the game for Bayern.

The win means that the Bavarians’ lead at the top of the table has been extended to 11 points. The title race, if it even existed, is dead, so let’s stop talking about it. 

However, from a performance point of view, Dortmund will probably feel that they did not deserve to lose this, and they at least deserved a point, especially when you consider the reaction between when Bayern took the lead compared to Atalanta in midweek. 

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (5), Yan Couto (5), Emre Can (-), Waldemar Anton (6), Nico Schlotterbeck (4), Daniel Svensson (6), Marcel Sabitzer (6), Felix Nmecha (6), Maximilian Beier (5), Fabio Silva (4), Karim Adeyemi (5)

Others: Ramy Benebaini (5), Serhou Guirassy (5), Julian Brandt (5), Jobe Bellingham (5), Samuele Inacio (5)

Bayern Munich:

Jonas Urbig (5), Konrad Laimer (5), Jonathan Tah (6), Dayot Upamecano (6), Josip Stanisic (5), Joshua Kimmich (6), Aleksander Pavlovic (6), Michael Olise (6), Serge Gnabry (5), Luis Diaz (6), Harry Kane (7)

Others: Jamal Musiala (5), Tom Bischof (-), Min-Jae Kim (-), Leon Goretzka) (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Harry Kane (7)

The Englishman stepped up when Bayern needed him the most, even coming away with his now customary penalty. 

He now has 30 goals in 24 games, with 10 games left, he must score 11 to match Robert Lewandowski’s 41 goals in a season record. However, we as a collective cannot allow him to break this record wearing Skechers; it doesn’t sit right in any way. Müller wore Adidas, Lewandowski-Nike, then Kane-Skechers???. The dad shoe brand cannot have this. 

Back to Kane’s performance, he was again all over the pitch, as can be seen from his heatmap, and began a lot more involved in the second half compared to the first, also completing nine passes into the final third and winning seven duels too.

GGFN | Jack Meenan