Borussia Dortmund are down in the drop zone after a devastating fifth consecutive Bundesliga loss.
Bayern Munich have solidified their standing on top of the Bundesliga table, and all but assured that they won't be bothered by Borussia Dortmund later this season. Der BVB were impressive early on at the Allianz Arena, but faded late in the second half and the Bavarians fought from behind to snatch a 2-1 victory.
The game got off to a blazing fast start, with chances on both ends instantly. Arjen Robben looked to have scored in the 6th minute with a brilliant shot from the edge of the box, following an even better backheel pass by Philipp Lahm, but Roman Weidenfeller pushed the ball onto the crossbar. Three minutes later, no one tracked a run into the center by Henrik Mkhitaryan, who unleashed a shot from a similar range and hit the far post.
Bayern had all of the ball and a number of chances before the half-hour mark, but couldn't capitalize. Thomas Müller failed to put enough power on chances that fell to him in the center of the box, and Weidenfeller had to get down low to save another great shot from Robben in the 23rd minute.
Eventually, Dortmund's counter-attacks started to look more dangerous, and they got on the board first with an excellent one in the 31st minute. They worked the ball quickly down the flank to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who curled an inch-perfect cross to the center where Marco Reus was ready to meet the ball and head past Manuel Neuer.
Robben continued to be Bayern's best player through the end of the first half, and was unlucky not to score or record an assist. Weidenfeller made a big stop on Müller in the 38th minute after Robben played an excellent throughball, and the Dutchman should have scored himself a minute later off a pass from Robert Lewandowski that set him up with a free shot. He could have taken first time with his right, but opted to shift the ball to his left, allowing the BVB defense time to recover.
Dortmund defender Mats Hummels picked up a knock in the first half and was forced out at halftime, with Neven Subotic replacing him. Hummels was excellent in the first half, and there didn't appear to be much of an initial drop-off after he was replaced, but Subotic eventually had a part to play in Bayern's scoring.
Bayern's bad finishing luck continued into the second half, resulting in some stunning missed chances. Lewandowski had the goal at his mercy in the 51st minute, but put a scissor kick half-volley into the leg of Weidenfeller, who knew nothing about the save he made. In the 64th minute, Mehdi Benatia rose to meet a corner kick and should have scored, but pushed his header just wide.
The Bavarians eventually found their goal, and they were aided by a lucky deflection. Substitute Franck Ribery tried to play a through ball for Robben in the 72nd minute, but it hit off the leg of a Dortmund defender. Sadly for the visitors, that caused the ball to bounce into the path of Lewandowski, who finally applied a clinical finish.
It was all downhill for BVB from there. In the 84th minute, Ribery made the difference once again, drawing a penalty. He went down under a tug from Subotic, and while he might have hit the turf easily, the Dortmund defender could hardly argue that he hadn't grabbed Ribery's arm and pulled. Robben stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty, firing his side ahead.
With his side in the lead, Pep Guardiola brought defensive midfielder Sebastian Rode on for Lewandowski to shut down the game. With Dortmund's most dangerous attacking outlet, Shinji Kagawa, having been subbed out out for Kevin Großkreutz in a defensive switch earlier, the visitors didn't have the spark to push for an equalizer.
Bayern Munich : Neuer, Alaba, Boateng, Benatia, Bernat, Alonso, Lahm, Robben, Götze (Ribery 70'), Müller (Pizarro 81'), Lewandowski (Rode 88')
Goals: Lewandowski (72'), Robben (penalty 86')
Borussia Dortmund : Weidenfeller, Durm, Hummels (Subotic 46'), Sokratis, Piszczek, Kehl, Bender, Reus, Kagawa (Großkreutz 71'), Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang (Ramos 81')
Goals: Reus (31')
Three things
1. The battle down Robben's side was a game of chicken -- Arjen Robben is not a wingback at all, but in playing him in that spot, Bayern Munich opened themselves up to attacks down his flank. They were banking that Robben would be more or less unstoppable cutting inside from a deeper wingback role -- which was true -- and that the quality of Lahm and Benatia would make up for his lack of defending, which was mostly true. Jürgen Klopp didn't make an adjustment to contain Robben and instead set up with his normal team, eventually getting a goal through the winger on Robben's side.
Both coaches figured they had the better matchup down that side despite their obvious defensive problems, refused to adjust to each other, and ultimately, it was a bit of a stalemate.
2. Dortmund's midfield was unimpressive -- Sebastian Kehl hasn't been at his best for quite some time, while Sven Bender's turnovers were problematic for BVB. They didn't do a terrific job of winning the ball, making life difficult for Bayern's attacking midfielders or starting dangerous counters. With an in-form Bender and either Nuri Sahin or Ilkay Gündogan at their best, this might have been a different game.
3. Bayern's ultra-attacking back three continues to be vulnerable -- There's certainly nothing wrong with Bayern's philosophy of overpowering their opponents and conceding that they will allow dangerous counter-attacks as a result, but it might prevent them from winning the Champions League or DFB-Pokal. Their normal tactics are a good way to rack up huge wins against teams that play poorly and post the most points over the course of the season, but they'll probably have to employ a different tactic in big games come this spring.
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1tMNbsE
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