Borussia Dortmund were haunted by their former players in the Bundesliga’s 100th instalment of Der Klassiker as Bayern Munich returned to the top of the table with a 5-0 win over Lucien Favre’s side. It was actually Borussia Dortmund that had the first chance with their first counter-attack of the match, but Mahmoud Dahoud could only graze the outside of the post from Marco Reus’ pass back across the goal. The visitors were made to pay just a few minutes later when Mats Hummels rose the highest from a corner to nod Bayern Munich into a deserved lead.
Robert Lewandowski was then handed his 200th Bundesliga on a plate to put the game out of sight within the opening 20 minutes, capitalising on a mistake from Dan-Axel Zagadou to move level with Bayern Munich legend Gerd Müller as the league’s all-time top goalscorer in Der Klassiker.
Roman Bürki did his best to keep the scoreline down by half-time, but once again Dortmund struggled to deal with a set-piece and Javi Martinez was unmarked on the edge of the area to get his name on the scoresheet, while Serge Gnabry added a fourth just before half-time. Lewandowski then ensured he was Der Klassiker’s outright top goalscorer by adding another late on in the match, overtaking Müller in the rankings to round off a perfect evening for Bayern Munich.Key Talking Point
Robert Lewandowski’s first goal of the game saw him reach 200 goals in the Bundesliga, a tally which only legendary striker Gerd Müller reached in fewer games. The Poland international also moved level with Der Bomber as the Bundesliga’s all-time leading goalscorer in Der Klassiker, having scored 14 times in Germany’s showpiece fixture – 13 of which have come for the Reds.
Lewandowski was able to move ahead of Müller in the rankings for Der Klassiker, through his improvised first-half strike and second-half tap in to, if it wasn’t already set in stone, ensure he will be etched into Bayern Munich and the Bundesliga’s history books for eternity. Both sides can have a breather in mid-week following their exit from the Champions League, but Bayern Munich will be looking to flex their muscles against Fortuna Düsseldorf next weekend, while Borussia Dortmund host FSV Mainz 05.
RB Leipzig remain on track for a top-four finish in the Bundesliga after Matheus Cunha’s delightful chip sealed a 4-2 win over top half rivals Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Leipzig twice came from behind to claim a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions and cement their claim for a Champions League place. “We fought back well today after a tough week. It was an important three points in terms of the Champions League,” said Leipzig forward Marcel Sabitzer. Kai Havertz gave Leverkusen the lead from 12 yards after Willi Orban tripped Kevin Volland in the box early on.
Leipzig replied almost immediately when Sabitzer curled in a free-kick from the edge of the box, but Havertz quickly restored the lead with a superb half-volley. Leverkusen looked comfortable until Timo Werner suddenly smashed in Leipzig’s second just after the hour mark.
Emil Forsberg then put Leipzig in front from the penalty spot before Cunha secured the three points with a splendid lob seven minutes from time. Leipzig are three points ahead of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, who snatched a late 2-1 win at Schalke.
Ante Rebic rounded Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel on 13 minutes to put Frankfurt ahead, but Suat Serdar levelled the scores with his second goal in two games. Yet Frankfurt were awarded an injury-time penalty by VAR and Luka Jovic fired in the winner. Schalke remain five points clear of the bottom three after Nuremberg and Stuttgart shared the points in a relegation showdown.
Matheus Pereira’s opener for Nuremberg came against the run of play just before half-time. Stuttgart’s Ozcan Kabak then scored a controversial equaliser, given by VAR despite an apparent offside in the build-up. The equaliser keeps Stuttgart four points ahead of Nuremberg in the relegation play-off place. Relegation seems all but certain for Hanover, meanwhile, after they suffered a 3-1 defeat to local rivals Wolfsburg.
Hanover had an early penalty appeal turned down, but Henrik Weydandt broke free on the counter-attack to slide in the opener after half an hour. Their lead lasted all of 100 seconds, a Renato Steffen header bringing Wolfsburg level. Steffen scored again after half-time, and Jerome Roussillon added a third late on to seal the win and push Hanover further towards the drop.
Elsewhere, Benito Raman continued his excellent recent form with a brace for Fortuna Duesseldorf in their 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin. Hertha’s Marko Grujic cancelled out Raman’s first-half opener, but the Belgian striker scored again after the break to secure three points and move Duesseldorf a step closer to safety.