DER KLASSIKER PLAYER RATINGS | Bayern Munich 2-1 Borussia Dortmund – Goals from Harry Kane and Michael Olise help secure the win | OneFootball

In the first big matchup of the season, Bayern Munich hosted Borussia Dortmund after the Bundesliga’s return following the international break.

It was expected that Bayern would dominate Dortmund in this game, but not to this extent. In the first half, the visitors were unable to register a shot. Yes, not a shot on target, a shot. For most of the half, they were pinned into their own half, even their own final third for most of it. Bayern were that dominant.

Gregor Kobel was called into action several times in the first half, with his first big moment being a double save from Michael Olise and Luis Diaz.

However, Bayern took the lead when Harry Kane headed in a Joshua Kimmich corner to make it 1-0. The Rekordmeister had several other good chances but was unable to convert them.

The second half saw BVB produce a much better performance, with Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi having their best chances of the game. But, as die Schwarzgelben began to chase the game, more space opened up for Bayern to exploit. Each time, the hosts played a long ball, in Nico Schlotterbeck dealt with it, until he didn’t.

A shot from Diaz was stopped on the line by substitute Jobe Bellingham, but he was unable to clear the ball soon enough, and Olise slid in to make it 2-0. Dortmund did show some life when Julian Brandt scored to make it 2-1, but it was too little, too late.

Bayern show their brilliance:

If Bayern were a lot more clinical, the game would have been put to bed in the first half; they were that in control. Despite the injury to Serge Gnabry, the front four continued to flourish and looked just a fluid despite Nicolas Jackson filling in.

Not only is this front four good in attack, but as the old cliche goes, attack is your first line of defence, and the ability for them to more or less suffocate the Dortmund backline was one of the reasons Bayern were so in control in the first half.

It has gotten to the point where there is a real lack of superlatives to describe this Bayern side.

They were not as dominant in the second 45, but it helped that they were against Dortmund.

Leading us on to…

Dortmund are their own worst enemy:

It was clear within the first 30 minutes that with the way BVB had set themselves up, they were being put to the sword by the hosts, and they were simply not good enough.

After the break, they looked like a completely different team and actually looked like they were going toe-to-toe with the league leaders. If Dortmund had performed at this level from the start, then they would not have put themselves on the back foot.

Then, when they were chasing the game, the fact that they were not able to clear the ball meant they went 2-0 down, making the potential comeback even worse for themselves.

Ultimately, the fact that Dortmund are their worst enemies is one of the main reasons they lost this game. They have shown that they are able to be equals to Bayern, but the damage was already done after their first-half performance.

Bayern Munich:

Manuel Neuer (5), Sacha Boey (5), Jonathan Tah (6), Dayot Upamecano (6), Konrad Laimer (6), Joshua Kimmich (6), Aleksander Pavlovic (6), Michael Olise (7), Nicolas Jackson (6), Luis Diaz (6), Harry Kane (8)

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

Borussia Dortmund:

Gregor Kobel (5), Julian Ryerson (6), Niklas Süle (5), Waldemar Anton (6), Nico Schlotterbeck (7), Daniel Svensson (6), Marcel Sabitzer (5), Pascal Groß (5), Felix Nmecha (5), Sehrou Guirassy (4), Karim Adeyemi (5)

Others: Ramy Bensebaini (5), Jobe Bellingham (5), Maximilian Beier (5), Julian Brandt (-), Fabio Silva (-)

GGFN Man of the Match: Harry Kane (8)

His goal was not a classic Kane goal, but he continued his great start to the season. While it was everything else he did this evening that highlighted his quality. The Olympiastadion is hosting the NFL Game in November, but with the long balls Kane was playing, you would think it was happening this evening – the Englishman embodied the quarterback role.

Then, when Bayern were fighting with the game on the line, Kane was everywhere, clearing the ball, making last-ditch tackles; he was doing the dirty work as well.

This really shows how Vincent Kompany has gotten everyone pulling in the same direction.

GGFN | Jack Meenan