Bayern Munich 4-2 Borussia Dortmund: 5 hits and flops as imperious Robert Lewandowski hat-trick floors BvB | Bundesliga 2020-21
Bayern Munich fought back from two goals down to beat arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund 4-2 at the Allianz Arena in the 2020-21 Bundesliga to secure yet another incredible victory in the Der Klassiker.
Robert Lewandowski bagged a hat-trick, while Leon Goretzka was also on target for the hosts; Erling Haaland scored an early double for Dortmund. The in-form Norwegian opened the scoring inside 80 seconds before bringing up his brace in just the ninth minute.
However, Bayern Munich, who have won each of their last six home games to Dortmund in the league, responded through Lewandowski, who struck twice towards the end of the first half.
The match was seemingly heading for a draw till the reigning Bundesliga champions took the lead through Goretzka in the 88th minute. Lewandowski then applied the finishing touches by completing his hat-trick.
The victory helped Bayern Munich maintain their two-point lead at the top, while Dortmund's European hopes suffered another dent following a ninth defeat of the campaign.
On that note, here is a look at the five hits and flops from either team in the match:
Hit: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
This man just cannot stop scoring! Robert Lewandowski, against his former employers and favourite punching bags, scored yet another Klassiker hat-trick, helping the Bavarians turn around an early deficit and secure a convincing victory.
His first two goals were simple yet significant, a tap-in followed by a penalty to restore parity for the Bundesliga champions before half-time. Lewandowski then rounded off his second career hat-trick against BVB with a lovely finish in the 90th-minute to seal all three points for Bayern Munich.
No other team in the world has witnessed the Polish ace's scoring prowess quite like Dortmund, who've now conceded 22 goals to Lewandowski since seeing him leave on a free transfer in 2014.
Flop: Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund were the orchestrators of their own downfall against Bayern Munich, and one of the main culprits for the same was Mahmoud Dahoud, who struggled defensively.
Starting for the third consecutive game, the German centre-back was facing his toughest outing. However, he failed to live up to the occasion, giving away the ball cheaply many times.
In fact, he also misplaced 15 passes on the night - more than anyone else. More importantly, Mahmoud conceded a silly penalty which allowed Bayern Munich to claw their way back into the game.
Dahoud, rather recklessly, stamped on a retreating Kingsley Coman just inside the area; Lewandowski cooly slotted the ensuing penalty to make it 2-2 for Bayern Munich.