Bayern had the bulk of the early chances in the opening stages of the match; as such, it came as no surprise at all when about halfway through the first half, Harry Kane scored with a header after having been set up by Joshua Kimmich. Bayern continued to apply the pressure following the goal; however, despite their domination of the first 45 minutes, they weren't able to add to their tally following Kane's goal. Michael Olise came closest with a shot that came back off the post.
The second half proved to be largely no different to the first; Bayern once again dominated proceedings though their opponents did put up a little more resistance after the break. It was primarily thanks to an excellent performance from Dortmund's Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel that Dortmund remained just one goal behind for most of the second half. This, however, would only be the case until the 78th minute. Jobe Bellingham, who just a few minutes earlier had replaced Marcel Sabitzer, botched his goalline clearance; it ended up coming off Olise who slid it in for Bayern's second goal.
Just a few minutes later, Die Schwarzgelbe did pull one back against the run of play after substitute Julian Brandt volleyed in Julian Ryerson's cross. However, that would be as far as Dortmund would end up getting. The result meant that Dortmund slipped seven points behind their opponents who remain top of the league after having won their first seven matches. Bayern have already opened up a five-point lead over second-placed RB Leipzig at this early stage of the season; it already seems as though the league title has been wrapped up. In fact, the Bavarian club have won all 10 matches they've played thus far this season.
As for Dortmund, this match - as has so often been the case with Der Klassiker in recent seasons - handed them a severe reality check. The final scoreline by no means reflected how the match actually played out; it grossly undersold how dominant Bayern really were. The gap between Bayern and Dortmund has clearly grown once again to a point at which one wonders if Bayern will be well-positioned to build up yet another lengthy Der Klassiker winning streak.
What makes Dortmund's latest loss to their arch-rivals even more galling is the fact that this time around, Bayern didn't even play particularly well. Dortmund lost this match more than Bayern won it. It wasn't just the fact that the decisive second goal came by way of a Dortmund player's error; throughout the match Dortmund were sloppy and careless in possession, often surrendering the ball at inopportune times and making crucial errors which prevented a goalscoring chance from being formed.
This is the main reason why Brandt's goal was Dortmund's only shot on target and without any question, it's something Dortmund have to work on if they are to make the top four and qualify for the Champions League for an 11th consecutive season.
Dortmund spent heavily in the off-season transfer window; their most expensive signing was Bellingham, the younger brother of Real Madrid superstar Jude who was once a Dortmund standout himself, from Sunderland for €33 million. However, the general consensus among the fanbase has been that 1) he's not ready for the team as he is now and should probably have been loaned out this season and 2) that hefty transfer fee could have been put to better use. This performance only reinforced such sentiments.
However, if there was one bright spot to be found, it was to come via Niko Kovač's half-time adjustments which directly led to Dortmund's second-half improvements. After taking over from the wholly incompetent Nuri Şahin in the dugout midway through last season and salvaging what would've been a disastrous campaign, the Croatian will likely have to once again be at that level to keep Dortmund a top-four club.
Even at this early stage of the season, it's already safe to say that Borussia Dortmund can forget about a first Bundesliga title in 14 years and will have to focus on securing Champions League qualification. However, performances like theirs against Bayern Munich certainly won't help their case.
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