Bayern Munich overcame great rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 to advance to round four of the DFB Pokal on Wednesday evening.
The Bavarians put on an excellent first-half show at the Allianz Arena and were two goals up going into the break. Jerome Boateng opened the scoring in only the 12th minute with a header, before a sumptuous chipped finish from Thomas Müller made it 2-0. Changes from Dortmund meant they were much improved in the second-half and did find a route back into the game with a goal from Andriy Yarmolenko.
Peter Stöger’s men were not able to find the equaliser though, meaning the cup holders exited the competition in the round of 16.
Disastrous start for Dortmund
Arturo Vidal was the first to have a real effort in vein at goal in the first-half. The Chilean midfielder had made an excellent run from deep, and connecting with a cross Thomas Müller, thundered a powerful header off of the crossbar. Fellow midfielder James Rodríguez also found space in the box in the opening stages but his low shot only served to deflect off of Sokratis and away.
The waves of attack from the home side continued to come as Vidal’s shot squirmed its way through to Robert Lewandowski. The Pole attempted to chip over Roman Bürki but the Swiss stopper did well to parry away amidst appeals of offside from the Dortmund defence. Franck Ribéry was then the next to go close only to be thwarted by another fantastic stop from the goalkeeper. Lewandowski attempted to hook in from the rebound with an acrobatic effort but the ball was eventually cleared.
Boateng heads home to snatch the lead
It was not long before the opening goal however and it was central defender Jérôme Boateng who reacted to earn a deserved lead for his team. From a free-kick on the left-flank, Niklas Süle headed towards goal but was unlucky to see the ball strike the crossbar. Boateng though was in enough space to coolly nod the rebound into the back of the net.
Borussia Dortmund manager Peter Stöger attempted to earn his side at least a foothold in the game by making an early change as Marc Bartra was replaced by Mahmoud Dahoud. The alteration nearly paid off for the visitors as well. Christian Pulisic attempted a cross which looked like it was being cut-out by David Alaba. The Austrian however slipped giving Andriy Yarmolenko acres of room in the box. The Ukranian struck for the far post but some excellent recovery defending from Alaba on the line preserved Bayern’s lead.
Bayern secure the win in the first-half
Just as Dortmund looked to find a route back into the clash, Jupp Heynckes’ men doubled their advantage. An swift one-two between Müller and Lewandowski saw the former run through on goal. The German forward then deftly lifted the ball over the advancing Bürki to notch his second goal in as many games.
Müller should have scored again but his header from an Alaba cross was somehow collected by Bürki with an eye-catching stop.
The visitors also had a brief glimpse of goal just after the restart but Shinji Kagawa put his effort just wide of Sven Ulreich’s goal. Bayern should have wrapped up the game mid-way through the second-half. A low cross from Müller just evaded Lewandowski and Vidal who were both queueing up at the back post.
Dortmund do bite back
Die Borussen did eventually create something of note however and managed to reduce the deficit. Shinji Kagawa found space on the left-side and with an exquisite lofted cross, found the head of Yarmolenko. The winger headed low into the ground and found the net, dragging his side back into the clash.
Substitute André Schürrle then flashed a powerful low effort wide of goal as the visitors looked to establish parity yet again. Heynckes attempted to react as he introduced Sebastian Rudy for Javi Martinez.
Aleksander Isak wriggled free in the closing minutes and was unlucky to see his effort deflect wide off of Boateng as Dortmund desperately scrambled forwards. Despite the pressure from the visitors, Bayern managed to hold on take claim victory and advance to the final 16.
Final Thoughts
To quote a cliché, it really was a game of two halves at the Allianz Arena. Bayern were dominant throughout the first period and had numerous chances before Boateng eventually netted. As a matter if fact, they should have probably had a far more emphatic score line going into half-time. Their attacking flair was just far too much for Dortmund to cope with.
The visitors meanwhile were bitterly disappointing and it was not a surprise to see the Dortmund boss make early alterations to his team. They were much-improved in the second-period and did have chances to equalise but it was simply not meant to be and the holders will not be able to defend their title this time around.
Match Report
Bayern Munich: Ulreich (6); Kimmich (7), Boateng (8), Süle (7), Alaba (7); Müller (8), Rodríguez (7) (Tolisso (6), 75′), Martinez (7) (Rudy (N/A), 87′), Vidal (7), Ribery (7) (Coman (6), 61′); Lewandowski (6).
Borussia Dortmund: Bürki (6); Toprak (6), Sokratis (7), Bartra (5) (Dahoud (6), 34′); Weigl (6); Schmelzer (5), Guerreiro (5) (Schürrle (6), 56′), Kagawa (6), Toljan (6) (Isak (N/A), 88′); Pulisic (6), Yarmolenko (6).
Goals: Boateng (12′), Müller (40′), Yarmolenko (77′)
Referee: Sascha Stegemann
Yellow Cards: Ribery (22′), Lewandowski (79′), Vidal (83′), Dahoud (89′)
Red Cards: N/A
