Dortmund coach Lucien Favre admitted his side had been taught a 'football lesson' after their hammering in Munich. DW's Mark Lovell saw a typically Bayern display and a BVB side who may have blown their biggest chance.
Image: Reuters/K. Paffenbach
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Squandering a golden chance to move five points clear at the top, overawed Borussia Dortmund were comprehensively knocked off top spot as champions Bayern Munich handed the deposed Bundesliga leaders a "football lesson" in a ruthless 5-0 Klassiker victory.
A global event, beamed all around the world in over 200 countries, expectations were high that this 100th Bundesliga meeting of the two German heavyweights would live up to its billing. This was the Bundesliga's biggest game since the crunch six pointer decided by Robert Lewandowski's deft backheel when a dramatic late Arjen Robben penalty miss gave Jurgen Klopp's BVB an unassailable lead in 2011-12.
However, with the title up for grabs in Munich, this "Klassiker" (classic) soon became more about "Der "Klassenunterschied" – (the difference in class) as the champions ran rampant while Dortmund visibly wilted under the Munich spotlight. Those millions of viewers worldwide didn't get much of a contest.
BVB have been unceremoniously sent packing on their previous three visits 6-0, 5-1 and 4-1, so once Mahmoud Dahoud's gilt-edged chance brushed past the wrong side of the post in the seventh minute, one sensed a certain air of inevitability about the result, despite this being a far from vintage Bayern side.
And so it proved. First Mats Hummels and Robert Lewandowski, title winners at Dortmund under Klopp, added insult to injury before Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry put the game out of reach by the break. Lewandowski's strike took him to 200 Bundesliga goals in only 284 appearances.
Cruise control
With the game in the bag, a tedious second half ensued as Bayern visibly went easy on hapless Dortmund, happy to regularly engage cruise control against a demoralised side. However, in their efforts to rile Lewandowski, Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney only succeeded into goading the prolific goalscorer into adding the final goal of the evening.
In an act of mercy, referee Manuel Grafe blew his final whistle promptly on 90 minutes, with no added time, to stop Dortmund from receiving further punishment.
A bewildered BVB captain Marco Reus bemoaned his team's inexplicably inept display: "We played and defended catastrophically,” he said. An equally despondent coach Lucien Favre admitted that his side had been given a "football lesson" by a "dominant" Bayern.
Don't forget this was an extremely vulnerable Bayern side who have grabbed draws from the jaws of victory against Bundesliga minnows Fortuna Düsseldorf, Augsburg and Freiburg (twice). Bayern were there for the taking this season. Nico Kovac's aging squad tottered alarmingly between transition and crisis in the autumn, while Favre's then-unbeaten side built up a seemingly impregnable nine point advantage.
Julian Weigl and Axel Witsel hang their heads after defeatImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/K. Joensson
After frittering away that lead, Dortmund traveled to the Bavarian capital more in hope than expectation. With Bayern on the brink of rejuvenation following an unprecedented spending spree, this has been perceived by many as Dortmund's last chance to seize the Bundesliga title for the foreseeable future. However, Favre's men collapsed, suffering a massive case of stage fright – not helped by their alarming inability to defend simple crosses into the box. With the visitors overawed by the occasion, typically Bayern seized on their nervous frailty, raising their game on the big Bundesliga occasion, spurred on by a joyous home crowd.
Where does the Bundesliga go from here?
With six games remaining, it's hard to see how Dortmund can recover from this potentially fatal blow to their title hopes. This match promises to have handed their remaining opponents a huge lesson, i.e. regularly pump a few crosses into the box. Having assumed what they consider their rightful position at the top, expect Bayern to kick on from here and seal a magnificent seven in a row. It's how they roll in these parts. At least in the Bundesliga.
Bayern's rebuilding will continue in earnest over the summer with French World Cup winners Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez set to bolster a brittle backline.
The marketing men won't like this, but if Bayern retain their advantage at the top this season, their winning run would seem set to run well into double figures.
Cue louder noises for a European Super League.
Bundesliga roundup: Matchday 28
Bayern Munich went top of the league after thrashing Borussia Dortmund while Eintracht Frankfurt left it late against Schalke. Elsewhere, Leverkusen threw it away against RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim won big on Sunday.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Werder Bremen
Davy Klaasen's header 11 minutes from time extended Werder Bremen's unbeaten league run to 11 games - and denied Gladbach a much-needed win. A tight first half gave way to a more open second, with Gladbach taking the lead through an assured finish by Florian Neuhaus. But Klaasen's header ensured a draw, and means the outgoing Dieter Hecking's side have just one league win in the last eight games.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
Augsburg 0-4 Hoffenheim
Three clinical finishes from Ishak Belfodil led Hoffenheim to a convincing victory in Augsburg, and saw the striker take home the match ball. Andrej Kramaric opened the scoring inside six minutes with a simple finish from close-range, but the second half was all about Belfodil, who struck a 21-minute hat-trick to put the game beyond the hosts, who were very poor.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Pretty
Bayern Munich 5-0 Borussia Dortmund
Bayern Munich leapfrogged Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table after a thumping win. Mahmoud Dahoud hit the post early on for BVB but the hosts quickly took full control and led 4-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Mats Hummels, Robert Lewandowski, Javi Martinez and Serge Gnabry. Lewandowski added a fifth in the second half - his 201st Bundesliga goal - to complete the rout.
Image: Reuters/K. Paffenbach
Bayer Leverkusen 2-4 RB Leipzig
We expected an offensive spectacle and that's exactly what we got. Kai Havertz twice put Leverkusen ahead, first from the spot and then with a sumptuous half-volley, but twice the Red Bull-backed club came back through a Marcel Sabitzer free-kick and a low Timo Werner drive (see above). Emil Forsberg put RB ahead from the spot before Cunha made the points secure with a delicious turn and chip.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Vennenbernd
Schalke 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
There was late drama in Gelsenkirchen as VAR awarded Frankfurt a 98th-minute penalty after a Daniel Caligiuri handball. Earlier, the Eagles took the lead through Ante Rebic's ninth goal of the season before Suat Serdar, who was later sent off, drew Schalke level. VAR surprisingly didn't award Frankfurt a penalty after Steven Zuber fouled Rebic, but awarded one later, which Luka Jovic converted.
Image: Reuters/L. Kuegeler
Hertha Berlin 1-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
Fortuna Düsseldorf's incredible second half of the season continued with victory in the capital, enabling them to leapfrog Hertha. After Dodi Lukebakio missed two good first-half chances, Benito Raman showed him how it's done with a well-taken brace, first on the counter-attack before the break and then on the rebound afterwards. In between, Liverpool loanee Marko Grujić had equalized for Hertha.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Gora
VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 Hannover
Wolfsburg came from behind to secure victory in the Lower Saxony derby. Henrik Weydandt put Hannover ahead after half an hour but the visitors' lead lasted just 100 seconds before Renato Steffen (pictured) equalized. Genki Haraguchi missed two big chances to restore Hannover's lead and they paid the price as Steffen scored his second of the afternoon and Jerome Roussillon wrapped up the points.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
VfB Stuttgart 1-1 Nuremberg
Stuttgart rescued a point in a low-quality encounter with relegation rivals Nuremberg. The visitors took the lead through the impressive Matheus Pereira (pictured) after Marc-Oliver Kempf had hit the bar for the hosts. But the Swabians equalized through Muhammed Kabak, VAR allowing the goal despite Anastasios Donis appearing to active and in an offside position.
Image: Imago Images/Zink
Mainz 5-0 Freiburg
Mainz were in ruthless mood as they crushed Freiburg to pick up their first win since February. Jean-Paul Boetius, pictured above, seized on Alexander Schwolow's poor clearance to grab the opener. Boetius then turned provider for Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored two in quick succession. Karim Onisiwo added a fourth after the break before Mateta completed his hat-trick and the rout.