Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich: 6 Things We Learned
Bundesliga titans Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich faced off at the Signal-Iduna Park on Saturday in a rematch of the 2013 Champions League final.
The game was a tale of two halves, with a confident but impotent BVB controlling the play before the break and Bayern putting their hosts to the sword after halftime, claiming a 3-0 win. Mario Goetze struck mid-way through the second half before Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller each hit the target in the last five minutes.
Saturday's fixture was not exactly the spectacle that previous clashes between the German giants have been—both sides were blighted by injuries in recent weeks and stars like Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ilkay Gundogan and Mats Hummels missed out on the action. As a result, Pep Guardiola and Juergen Klopp were forced to throw the dice with their tactics and lineups.
As many fringe players were thrown into the pressure cooker, Dortmund vs. Bayern offered a number of lessons to be taken from the action. Click "Begin Slideshow" for a rundown of the take-home points.
Bayern Need Ribery or Goetze to Reliably Create Chances
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A month ago, Bayern beat Mainz 4-1 at the Allianz Arena. The margin of their victory undermined a lesson that should have been learned that day; to truly take the game to their opponents, Bayern need someone other than Thomas Mueller, Arjen Robben and Toni Kroos in attacking midfield.
All of the aforementioned are excellent secondary creators, operating secondary to an elite creator like Franck Ribery or Mario Goetze. But none has the complete skill set required to reliably break down defenses. Bayern were down 1-0 at halftime in that match and hardly had created a single chance before the break. Goetze came on at the break, and within seven minutes, Bayern were ahead.
With a rib fracture keeping Ribery out of Saturday's match, Guardiola surprisingly kept Goetze out of his starting lineup. Bayern's attack was impotent for most of the first half, their few chances coming somewhat fortuitously.
As against Mainz, Goetze came on in the second half and had an almost instantaneous impact. Bayern's attack had more fluidity and looked more incisive as the ex-BVB man made runs from deep. Less than 10 minutes after his introduction, Goetze scored the all-important opener. By full time, it was 3-0. By now, Goetze has certainly earned his spot in the starting XI.
Dortmund Need Heroics from Their Front 6 from Now Until the Winter Break
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In spite of all their injury woes, Dortmund lined up against Bayern with the best front six they've had available since Ilkay Gundogan's injury in August: Nuri Sahin and Sven Bender in defensive midfield, with Marco Reus, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jakub Blaszczykowski supporting lone striker Robert Lewandowski. The real problem for BVB is in the back line.
Kevin Grosskreutz and Erik Durm are hardly full-backs; both played exclusively as attacking players until recently. But barring their own possible injuries, they will be BVB's starting full-backs until Lukasz Piszczek and Marcel Schmelzer return from injury. Following half a year without playing competitive football, emergency-signing Manuel Friedrich will need time to adapt to playing at a high level once more.
The key to Dortmund's success, therefore, is to keep the ball away from the back four. That means pressing even more than usual, never conceding an inch and finishing off opponents with efficient play from their attacking players.
Dortmund were dominant, especially in the first half hour, against Bayern. They took the game to their opponents and could have scored at least two or three times but failed to punish their opponents before they settled.
Bayern punished Dortmund for their inefficiency as Mario Goetze scored the opener on 66 minutes. By full time, it was 3-0. A costly lesson for the hosts, whom, in the end, were put to the sword.
The Next Couple of Weeks May Be Difficult for Bayern
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Unrivaled depth was the biggest factor in Bayern winning the Bundesliga last season, and the club only improved the quality (if not the sheer number of options) of their squad in the summer transfer window as they added Mario Goetze, Thiago Alcantara and Jan Kirchhoff to their ranks.
Bayern's depth has saved them on many occasions this season as injured stars have been replaced with top-quality backup. With Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Xherdan Shaqiri, Claudio Pizarro and Holger Badstuber absent from the matchday squad on Saturday, however, the Bayern squad was rather short of fit, in-form substitutes.
The Bayern bench against BVB consisted of Goetze, Thiago, Kirchhoff, Daniel van Buyten, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Mitchell Weiser and reserve goalkeeper Tom Starke.
At nearly 36 years of age, van Buyten is a bit of a last resort. Thiago and Goetze have seen only minimal action this season due to injuries, the former having not played since August. Kirchhoff has been fit but entered the match with just 121 minutes of competitive football under his belt this season. And Hojbjerg (18) and Weiser (19) only have an appreciable level of experience in the lower leagues.
It's a lot to ask of any of these players to suddenly reach the level demanded by a top team like Bayern. And with so may stars having played so many minutes, especially after a grueling game like Saturday's, rotation is certain to take place in the next few weeks.
Bayern are a strong team with strong personalities, and in all likelihood, someone will step up. It may take some time to figure out just who is ready to shoulder the burden.
Friedrich: On His Way but May Find His Form Too Late
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In his first match since the end of last season, Manuel Friedrich, in some ways, looked like the player he was called upon to replace in the Dortmund lineup: Mats Hummels.
The currently injured Hummels is a great defender with outstanding attributes, but his one glaring shortcoming is his propensity to make mistakes. They're few and far between, but when he makes them, they are often atrocious.
Friedrich only began to train with BVB in recent days and needs time to find his form. He was solid at the back in many instances, but a couple isolated lapses in positioning nearly cost Dortmund a pair of goals in the first half.
Once Bayern went ahead, Dortmund were stretched in the midfield, and no center-back could be particularly blamed for the goals conceded. The 3-0 result suggests a dire performance from Freidrich, but in fairness, Bayern's last two came as Dortmund were desperately pushing up the pitch.
Friedrich will find his form in the coming weeks, but Dortmund need him at his best sooner than later. Their Champions League campaign is on the line on Tuesday as they take on Napoli.
Magnificent Match-Winner Goetze Set for Annual Hounding
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Speaking to Kicker earlier this week, Mario Goetze said he expected a hostile reception at the Signal-Iduna Park. He was right.
Pep Guardiola didn't bother to start Goetze on Saturday, a move that would have subjected the 21-year-old to the collective tongue-lashing of some 70,000 Dortmund fans (and the encouragement of about 11,000 Bayern supporters). When it came time for Goetze to warm up, he did so in the tunnel rather than on the sideline.
When Goetze came on the pitch, he was met with just the kind of reception he'd expected. But, he was ready. Just minutes after his introduction, the attacker broke the deadlock with a sublime finish. For nearly an hour, Dortmund spurned chance after chance. With his first, Goetze decided the game.
Goetze declined to celebrate, but the mere fact that he scored was salt in a still fresh wound for the Dortmund faithful. For the rest of his Bundesliga career, the enormously talented attacker will receive no love at the Signal-Iduna Park. Not that it matters to him anymore; on Saturday, he decidedly earned the admiration of Bayern fans around the world.
Goetze Takes the Headlines, but Neuer Man of the Match
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Mario Goetze scoring against his former club makes for a compelling narrative, and it is true that the Memmingen native played a crucial role in deciding the result of Saturday's game. But for Bayern, the man of the match surely must be Manuel Neuer.
Dortmund may have wasted a number of chances with poor shooting, but the hosts twice forced wonder-saves from Neuer. With the score still 0-0, Neuer made masterful stops from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marco Reus, ensuring that, by the time Goetze came on, the game was still within reach. Goetze, and later Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller, made no mistake in doing the rest.
