Bayern Munich secured a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening in the Bundesliga.
The hosts moved into cruise control early-on as they dominated the opening exchanges, with several moves of promise put together against a BVB side who couldn’t get out of their own half, and were lucky to be down just 1-0 through Harry Kane’s header at the break.
Dortmund improved instantly after the restart to create a more competitive match, but it was the Bundesliga champions who doubled their lead when Kane’s exquisite long ball found Luis Diaz for a cut back, which Jobe Bellingham then cleared into the on-rushing Michael Olise.
Substitute Julian Brandt pulled one back for Niko Kovac’s side immediately after coming on, but they couldn’t make any further chances of any significance as Bayern held on through five minutes of stoppage time, with Luis Diaz missing an opportunity to add a third in the dying embers of the game.
Bayern thus won Bundesliga's Klassiker to maintain their perfect start to the season with their seventh straight win.
Player ratings
Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1)
Manuel Neuer - 6/10: It was an uneventful first half from Neuer’s perspective as he enjoyed the atmosphere and watched his side completely dominate the proceedings. Under more pressure in the second half, but responded well, particularly when clearing a dangerous cross in stoppage time.
Sacha Boey - 6/10: The right-back chose the right moments to get forward without giving up anything down his flank. He linked well with Olise when looking to finish attacks, with the most notable seeing him place his effort past the post.
Jonathan Tah - 7/10: Germany international Tah looked confident as he engaged high up the pitch to restrict space, while also being confident in possession when progressing the ball forwards.
Dayot Upamecano - 7/10: Upamecano encouraged physical battles in his duels and often came out on top, with strong challenges against Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi.
Joshua Kimmich - 6/10: A constant threat from set-pieces with dangerous deliveries, including the one that found Kane for the opener, but he almost helped Dortmund back into the game with a mistake that led to a big chance for Karim Adeyemi.
Konrad Laimer - 7/10: Laimer was difficult to mark from the deeper midfield role as he consistently picked up the ball and got Bayern moving forwards with accurate passes and drives into the opposition half.
Aleksandar Pavlovic - 6/10: Some impressive moments of link-up play saw Pavlovic and Olise combine well, with the 21-year-old looking to play the ball long when the winger was wide, while also playing quick and intricate passes to open up shooting angles for him in central areas.
Luis Diaz - 6/10: The presence of Diaz meant Borussia Dortmund always had to be alert of the former Liverpool winger, who wasn’t as productive as normal in dangerous areas. Too often his final strike lacked conviction, but he finally registered an assist with a cutback that was cleared into Olise.
Harry Kane - 9/10: The England international took up intelligent positions as a fluid number 10 to thread play together, dropping deep and working his way out of pressure to unlock Bayern's dynamic wingers. He scored the opener for Bayern Munich after pushing off Guirassy before heading past the goalkeeper, and then played a part in the second with a wonderful long ball to Diaz.
Michael Olise - 7/10: Olise was difficult to deal with across the match as he mixed up going wide and cutting inside, in a game which he always looked to be aggressive with his decision-making, asking questions of the goalkeeper on several occasions. Scored after Bellingham cleared the ball into him.
Nicolas Jackson - 5/10: Worked hard to stretch Dortmund’s defensive line but he often found himself isolated against the narrow back three.
Substitutes
Leon Goretzka (Jackson, 62') - 6/10: Kept things simple and looked to garner control of midfield as BVB pushed numbers forward.
Tom Bischof (Boey, 85') - N/A: A late change made to see the game out, but he instantly saw Brandt pull one back for Dortmund.
Kim Min-jae (Pavlovic, 90+2') - N/A: Brought in for the final minutes as an extra centre-back for the final three minutes of added time. Won the decisive free-kick that ended the game, but not before a celebratory chest bump with Joshua Kimmich.
Borussia Dortmund (3-5-2)
Gregor Kobel - 6/10: There wasn’t much Kobel could have done about Kane’s close range header from the corner, while he made the stops that he was expected to make, stopping Luis Diaz on three occasions, and a Kimmich effort from range.
Niklas Sule - 5/10: Struggled to make an impact at the back before being replaced at halftime by Ramy Bensebaini.
Nico Schlotterbeck - 7/10: Improved in the second half as he looked to help Dortmund take better care of the ball in transition from the back. A big moment also saw him make a crucial tackle on Olise, who was about to strike at goal on his favoured left foot.
Waldemar Anton - 7/10: A crucial block in the 38th minute from Anton prevented Diaz’s effort from threatening Kobel’s goal. He stopped Diaz getting his shot off again in the second half, capping off a bright second half display.
Daniel Svensson - 7/10: The Sweden international worked hard on the left flank and disrupted several attacks, while also looking to be positive going forward. He found Guirassy in the second half, but the striker smashed the ball over the bar. Svensson also got an important block on Olise in the second half to deny a close range strike.
Felix Nmecha - 5/10: Nmecha had his side’s first big chance of the game but he couldn’t direct his header goalwards.
Pascal Grob - 6/10: The Dortmund midfielder was deployed further forward in the second half and was able to link play with advanced players to sustain possession, leading to some promising moments for the visitors.
Marcel Sabitzer - 6/10: Kept things simple and was safe in possession, while also working hard to close down spaces in front of his team’s box. Replaced by Bellingham in the 73rd minute.
Julian Ryerson - 7/10: Won several duels as the defensive option included in the side to help stop the threat of Diaz. A strong second half also saw him register the assist for Brandt’s goal.
Karim Adeyemi - 5/10: When Dortmund got the ball forward it often came straight back at them which left Adeyemi without the space to use his speed. Scuffed a big chance over the bar when being found by Guirassy, and looked frustrated when brought off.
Serhou Guirassy - 5/10: The target forward couldn’t stop Kane from heading in after he lost a physical battle during the corner, but he was unlucky not to assist a goal after finding Adeyemi inside the box from Kimmich’s mistake.
Substitutes
Ramy Bensebaini (Sule, 45') - 5/10: Aggressive in the tackle, but perhaps too aggressive, picking up a booking just five minutes after coming on for a foul on Olise.
Jobe Bellingham (Sabitzer, 73') - 4/10: In six minutes, cleared the ball into Olise for Bayern's second goal. It was a tricky one, but he should have done better.
Maximilian Beier (Adeyemi, 73') - 5/10: Brought on as Dortmund looked to push for an equaliser.
Fabio Silva (Guirassy, 83') - N/A: Bright when introduced with direct runs at the defence, and unlucky to see his strike denied by a sliding Kane challenge.
Julian Brandt (Grob, 83') - N/A: Instant impact! Brandt came on and scored right away to provide a glimmer of hope for Dortmund, finishing well from Ryerson’s cross.
Quotes
Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer to Sky Sports: “It feels nice to win. It was a game between the two best teams in Germany. We could’ve done things better, but the most important thing is the 3 points. We’re on a good path.”
Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel to Sky Sports: “We showed a really good second half, I think in the second half we were the better team, it’s unfortunate we can’t win this game because we didn’t play the way we should have in the first half.
“Bayern was the better team (in the first half), we were way more courageous in the second half.”
