Despite all the monsters and ghouls out there roaming the night this Halloween, it was Borussia Dortmund who haunted Bayern Munich, stealing a point from the Allianz Arena in a 2-2 draw that the home side probably deserved to win.
Borussia Dortmund started the match well, going toe-to-toe with Bayern for the first 45 minutes. BVB could have taken the lead in the 35th minute, when Carney Chukwuemeka intercepted a sloppy turnover by Dayot Upamecano and Jobe Bellingham pounced on the rebound, sending
the ball into the corner. Unfortunately, in his follow-through, Chukwuemeka jumped right into Bayern goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, unintentionally kneeing him in the face (in fact he was clearly trying to evade him). While it was definitely a foul, it was a lucky break for Bayern because Jobe was already taking his shot and Urbig had zero chance at saving it even if he hadn’t been impeded. Alas, the game stayed 0-0.
Instead, Bayern would be the ones to take the lead, when Konrad Laimer picked off a Felix Nmecha pass after Daniel Svensson slipped trying to retrieve it. Laimer charged in on goal, past a poorly-timed challenge by Nico Schlotterbeck, and put a shot on target before tapping the rebound past Gregor Kobel. Despite a very solid first half, BVB entered the second half behind by a goal.
In the second half, Bayern put their collective foot on the pedal and really started to batter down on Dortmund. Everything was one way traffic. While Harry Kane missed a penalty that could have put the Bavarians up by two, there seemed to be very little hope for BVB to get back into the game. Then, the boys in black-and-yellow grabbed an equalizer out of nothing. Nico Schlotterbeck made a great play to jump in front of a pass from Kane to Michael Olise. He played the ball to Carney Chukwuemeka, who drove in on goal and poked a pass to Serhou Guirassy, who took a touch and sniped a clean finish past Urbig.
Unfortunately, Bayern immediately resumed applying the pressure and took the lead minutes later. Bayern took a short corner and completely picked Dortmund apart, with Joshua Kimmich looping a cross to Harry Kane, unmarked at the far post, who headed the ball to Upamecano, also unmarked at his far post. It was really ugly defending.
Despite the dismal start to the second half, BVB still clung to the ropes, and it was Fabio Silva who stood up and said, “I didn’t hear no bell.” In the 89th minute, after a mad scramble in the box, Konstantinos Karetsas managed to deflect a clearance by Aleksander Pavlovic, which bounced right to Fabio Silva. The substitute took one touch to control it and then lashed a shot that somehow found its way through a maze of players and into the back of the net.
Bayern almost spoiled the party when Lennart Karl launched a long shot that would have been a spectacular winning goal if it were two inches lower. Instead, it struck the crossbar, and the game ended 2-2.
Here are the highlights…
… and here are my thoughts:
One Good Half and One… Not Good Half
I was really impressed by Dortmund’s effort in the first half. The pressing was aggressive and well-coordinated. Bayern genuinely struggled to maintain possession and BVB spent large portions of the half on the front-foot. They even had a goal that was called off for an unfortunate but ultimately correct reason. Konrad Laimer’s goal came against the run of play and as the result of a single misplaced pass and a poorly-timed slip by Daniel Svensson. I thought BVB were very unlucky to go into half-time down a goal.
I expected Dortmund to come out and continue the pressure in the second half and they… very much did not do that. Bayern looked way better than BVB and should have run away with the game. They drew a penalty that Harry Kane fortunately botched, and took the lead again mere minutes after BVB’s equalizer. The expected goals in the second half were 2.42-0.24 for the Bavarians and shots 15-6. This time, though, Dortmund were the lucky ones, with Fabio Silva snatching the equalizer to spoil the party at the Allianz Arena. It just goes to show how finnicky football can be.
What Worked?
I believe Dortmund’s success in the first half was a team effort, but a few players in particular stood out. Jobe Bellingham and Carney Chukwuemeka were fantastic. Jobe was doing all the dirty work in midfield pressing the ball off of players, picking out passes, and driving forward with the ball. Chukwuemeka was very calm on the ball and was causing all kinds of problems either drifting out wide on the left or cutting inside. Serhou Guirassy was excellent on the ball whenever he dropped deep, but sometimes lacked players running off of him. Joey Veerman’s distribution from deep areas was excellent.
Unfortunately, the squad fell apart in the second half and these dynamics were lost, but it seems that Niko Kovac has found a formula that can work in big games. They just need to keep it up over 90 minutes.
Other Thoughts
- The Ballon d’Oink: Harry Kane won the Ballon d’Or on Monday, and thus received a guard of honor and a little ceremony before the game. I thought it was weird that it happened right before kickoff, but whatever. Kane had a decent game, with his usual full-pitch coverage and an assist to Dayot Upamecano, but he also smacked a penalty off the cross-bar that could have made the game 2-0 and probably would have put a BVB comeback out of reach.
- Bayern’s Injury Troubles: Another manner in which BVB were ‘lucky’ was Bayern’s injuries. The club has been dealing with this issue all season, and it only got worse today with Ismael Saibari, Serge Gnabry, and Michael Olise all leaving the pitch injured. It’s just worth noting that Bayern were not even at full strength today and still overall had the better on Dortmund.
- Gadou vs Davies: These are two lads who can really run. They went at each other like wide receiver and cornerback many times throughout the match along the touchline. I thought that Gadou had the better of his opponent in the first half, but looked a lot shakier in the second half, with Davies beating him to the line a few times. It was overall a memorable night for the BVB youngster, although I think fatigue got to him in the end.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of today’s game? Let me know your thoughts!
