Jamal Musiala (M.) rewarded Bayern’s comeback in Dortmund with the late equalizer.
Photo: imago/Sven Simon
It wasn’t easy for those involved to sort out their own feelings because somehow there was more to this football game – both for the home team from Borussia Dortmund and for the guests from FC Bayern. The Munich sports director Max Eberl used the undecided term “partial success” in his daily balance after the 1-1 draw between the two big clubs because the looming defeat until the 85th minute was averted, but the superior second half was not rewarded with a victory . The situation was similar for the people of Dortmund, whose managing director Lars Ricken spoke of a “mixed emotional situation”.
Vincent Kompany was a little clearer: “There are simply great games in the Bundesliga, and we saw that today,” said the Munich coach, looking at the big picture. Everyone could actually enjoy it. The audience experienced an excellent 90 minutes that were less overloaded than many recent duels between Dortmund and Munich. Something has changed in the tectonics of the Bundesliga, and that was good for this game. It wasn’t the champions playing against their closest rivals, but rather the league leaders were guests of an ambitious candidate for another participation in the Champions League. The fanatical perfectionism that was established at FC Bayern during the years with coaches Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel has been overcome. And both clubs have experienced crises, hard setbacks and upheavals. This is a liberation.
In previous constellations, Dortmund would have struggled because it was clear that in such a direct duel against Bayern in their home stadium, a win was actually necessary in order to maintain their chance of winning the championship title. This BVB does not currently have such demands with the youngest coach in the league and after a summer of repeated squad restructuring, so Ricken was able to draw a positive conclusion despite the loss of points: »Nuri Sahin’s plan has completely worked. In the end it’s totally fine.”
Sahin’s colleague Kompany is a coach who is driven by strong ambition, but prefers to look at the positive instead of subjecting himself to the internal agony of coming to terms with every mistake. This was clearly visible in the broadcaster’s interview when he made an unusual request: Kompany said he would only watch Jamie Gittens’ Dortmund goal, which was helped by a mistake by Konrad Laimer, if Munich’s goal was also shown. It was Jamal Musiala’s fourth header this season, making him the most dangerous header not only in the Bundesliga but in the top five European leagues. Musiala also just scored with a header for the national team against Bosnia – an amazing series.
Musiala was particularly proud of this goal to equalize in Dortmund, “because it was the right technique,” he said after the game, in which Dortmund were better during the first half and Munich after the break. The most defining element of this battle in the Westfalenstadion, however, was the dedication with which Dortmund defended. All field players took every step necessary, and his team played “extremely passionately,” said Pascal Groß. His midfield colleague Felix Nmecha is increasingly becoming the defining figure of the team. And Nico Schlotterbeck, who captained BVB for the first time in a game, sets the style: The national player not only defends with passion and joy, but also with a lot of courage, physical force and strong technique. So he pulled everyone along that evening.
One of Dortmund’s big weaknesses in the past was that players repeatedly became careless when it came to defense. That’s exactly what progress is showing. The goalscorer Gittens should also be singled out “because he helped Ramy Bensebaini in defense,” said Ricken. The same was true for Maximilian Beier on the other wing, or for Marcel Sabitzer and striker Serhou Guirassy, who all worked cleverly and passionately. “Now we’ll decide next Saturday in Gladbach what the point is worth,” said Ricken. Because Dortmund are still waiting for their first win away from home this Bundesliga season.
Before the cup game against Leverkusen on Tuesday, Bayern are now looking at the thigh of Harry Kane, who had to be substituted after half an hour due to pain. The injury was probably “not that bad,” said Kompany. But the Munich team doesn’t have much time to recover before the next top game, which is probably even bigger than the classic against Borussia Dortmund.
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