Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund: Five talking points
Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund for the first time in seven attempts, as a narrow win in the DFB Pokal quarter finals put the champions-elect of the Bundesliga through to the next round, ousting the current cup holders in the process. A scorcher from Arjen Robben was sufficient for the Bavarians to get past Jurgen Klopp’s men, whose recent record of five wins and a draw against Bayern is now a matter of the past. Here are five highlights of the game:
It was a sweet left-footed strike from the Dutchman, which sealed the game in Bayern’s favour, without which they were in real danger of experiencing last year’s Champions League final again, where they dominated the game but failed to convert enough opportunities to win. It was a strike, which saved the referee the question of a penalty decision as well, as Lahm had been taken down in the box by Schmelzer a fraction after knocking the ball to Robben, who was outside the box. An excellent first touch from the winger dragged the ball back and set it up properly for an effort worthy enough of beating Weidenfeller for the night and proving that he’s still one of the best in the world.
Around the hour mark, with Bayern closing in on a second goal, a header from Mario Mandzukic bounced off the cross bar and back into play, which had been stopped due to an offside decision against the Croatian striker. It was a wrong decision by the assistant referee, since Neven Subotic seemed to be playing him onside on the far end of the pitch denying Bayern a really good chance at doubling their lead. The header itself came after some good work by Javi Martinez to flick it to Kroos in the box, whose shot was straight at Weidenfeller, and was blocked by his legs, before being headed towards Mandzukic by Schmelzer. The rebound off the bar was in Martinez’s general direction, but thanks to the whistle being blown, saw little effort at being retrieved by the midfielder.
In the 14th minute, with the game still goalless, the young attacker had a chance to add to his ever-growing reputation with a fairly simple tap-in into an open net, after Weidenfeller had deflected the ball into his path. A cross from Philipp Lahm took a touch off Santana’s head, forcing Weidenfeller into a diving save, wherein he pushed the ball away from goal, and into the path of the advancing Kroos. Whether for the lack of anticipation, or poor technique, Kroos, who had scored a brilliant volley against Arsenal, got his body shape all wrong, and could only touch the ball out for a goal kick, with the retreating Gundogan heaving a sigh of relief at the near post. One of the easiest chances of the game, and one which could have opened the floodgates for Bayern.
For all the praise that the Munich defence has been garnering this season, their ‘keeper, Manuel Neuer, never really seems to have any work to do, thanks to the behemoths in central defence who often ensure that absolutely nothing gets past them. In the absence of Hummels, it wasn’t quite the same for the opposition though, as Bayern knocked and knocked on Dortmund’s door, only to be denied by some excellent saves from Roman Weidenfeller. Whether he should have had to make so many saves in the first place is a very debatable question, which was largely contributed to by Mandzukic’s quick feet regularly getting the better of the tallest man on the pitch, Santana. Yet, the fact that only one attempt got past him on a night of complete domination for Bayern is a commendable credit to his name.
Coming as it does at the beginning of the ‘business end’ of the season, this result was just what Bayern needed to provide them impetus, and Dortmund didn’t. Both teams follow this up with an encore at the weekend, where both managers are likely to field weaker sides, with the Champions League in mind, and the Bundesliga title an almost foregone conclusion. Thus, the question is over how deep the repercussions of these mind games are going to pervade, with Dortmund hosting Shakhtar after an entertaining 2 – 2 draw in the first leg, while Dortmund have a comfortable 3 – 1 lead to protect at the Allianz Arena, after having comprehensively outdone Arsenal at the Emirates.