Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund: Winners and Losers from Der Klassiker
Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon, struggling to put their opponents away initially but eventually finding the quality to do so.
Marco Reus crowned a beautiful counterattacking goal by heading home to open the scoring, but Bayern eventually answered through Robert Lewandowski.
A late Neven Subotic challenge on Franck Ribery forced the referee to award a penalty in the 85th minute, and Arjen Robben converted to seal the win.
Here are B/R's picks for the winners and losers from the game.
Winner: Sven Bender
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Sven Bender put on a clinic of how to play as a defensive midfielder at the very top, rescuing his side from dire positions under pressure with regularity.
His highlight of the match was tracking and nullifying the cut-back lane from Arjen Robben's sprint to the byline, taking the ball off the toe of Philipp Lahm inside the box. It's remarkable how few holding players sense this kind of danger.
He made as many tackles (four) as the entire Bayern Munich team did in the first half, per Squawka Dave.
Loser: Bayern's "Finishing"
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As fantastic as Borussia Dortmund were throughout, Bayern Munich tallied up at least five clear-cut chances but failed to convert them. In fact, they've struggled for a while in front of goal and simply cannot seem to nail down victories in comprehensive fashion as a result.
Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and, in particular, Thomas Muller missed a host of chances on Saturday, leaving the Allianz Arena fans at a loss as to how to explain the half-time deficit.
Loser: Jurgen Klopp's Tactics
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OK, so it wasn't all Jurgen Klopp, but the way this game fell allowed the German to play to his side's strengths.
Coming off four consecutive Bundesliga losses—three to "lesser" clubs—confidence had been drained from the Borussia Dortmund camp, and Klopp could have been forgiven for trying to bolt up and secure a draw.
While he favoured a deep-set defensive approach, he still countered at extreme speed and went for the jugular. Three players were always solely reserved for attacking, and they all combined for Marco Reus' goal.
BVB lost, and Bayern deserved to win. It started oh-so-well, but BVB tailed off and set themselves up to relent in the end.
Klopp was quoted by Reuters (via Daily Mail) as saying:
"We still have a lot of construction sites in our squad.
One could see that today. It is not just through bad luck that we are languishing down there.
We played our best first half in a long time. We have to start being rewarded for our effort. That is bothering us.
"
Winner: Robert Lewandowski
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Robert Lewandowski met former club Borussia Dortmund for the first time in the Bundesliga since leaving them this summer, and in the second half, he scored the equaliser that sparked the win.
It's always a plus to net against your former club, and he outlined his delight by celebrating—something many players refuse to do in 2014 when they score against former charges.
No matter how poor he was in the first half, he pulled it together and made the difference when his team needed him to the most.
Winner: Shinji Kagawa
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It really hasn't taken Shinji Kagawa long to prove to Manchester United that they criminally misused him, and it doesn't exactly require rocket science to see why.
Playing in his preferred role behind the striker as a No. 10, he slipped into pockets of space and created chances on the half-turn. The speed at which Borussia Dortmund countered was down to his quick decision-making, and he came close to a goal in the second half.
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