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Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund 1-3

Weary FCB slide to second home defeat of term

The punishing midweek victory over Inter took its toll on weary Bayern in the top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash with Dortmund, as the champions saw their faint hopes of retaining the title effectively ended in a 3-1 home defeat to the runaway leaders.

The 69,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw Lucas Barrios hand the visitors a shock ninth-minute lead, but Luiz Gustavo levelled seven minutes later with his first goal in a Munich shirt. Nuri Sahin restored Dortmund’s advantage just two minutes after that, and former Bayern prospect Mats Hummels made it 3-1 with a header on the hour to seal the champions-elect a first victory in Munich for 20 years.

The demoralising reverse means Louis van Gaal’s men slip to fourth in the standings on 42 points from 24 matches, now fully 16 points off the leaders, and three behind second-placed Leverkusen, who face a tricky trip to crisis club Bremen tomorrow. The Bavarians must pick themselves up rapidly now as a series of do-or-die matches continues on Wednesday in a DFB Cup semi-final at home to Schalke.

On the back of Bayern’s excellent results going into the game, Van Gaal fielded an unchanged side for the fourth match in row, with Thomas Kraft in goal behind a back four of Luiz Gustavo, Holger Badstuber, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk and captain Philipp Lahm. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Danijel Pranjic were paired in central midfield, with Thomas Müller operating behind lone striker Mario Gomez, and superstar wingers Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben on the flanks.

For BVB, in-form keeper Roman Weidenfeller missed out with injury, obliging boss Jürgen Klopp to hand a Bundesliga debut to 22-year-old Australian Mitchell Langerak. Neven Subotic returned from suspension to partner ex-FCB youth Hummels at the heart of the league’s meanest defence, with Sahin aiming to pull the strings in midfield. At an average age of 22.3 years, the starting line-up was the youngest in Dortmund’s 48-year top flight history.

Once referee Manuel Gräfe whistled the match underway on a clear but cold evening in Munich, the leaders were the first to settle, Robert Lewandowski smacking a volley high and wide, before Kevin Großkreutz dispossessed Schweinsteiger in midfield and slipped the ball behind Badstuber for Barrios to poke home and open the scoring.

Müller and Sven Bender exchanged shots before FCB upped the pressure with a series of set-plays, leading to the 16th-minute equaliser when Gustavo volleyed home Ribery’s corner with the Dortmund defence static. But the champions’ joy was short-lived, as Barrios and Mario Götze combined to set up Sahin 18 yards out for an inch-perfect curler past Kraft’s despairing dive.

FCB fought back and Gomez had the ball in the net after 26 minutes, only to be hauled back for a wafer-thin offside call. Lukasz Piszczek deflected Müller’s goalbound shot away for a corner after a superb exchange of passes between Pranjic, Ribery and Gomez, before Lewandowski whistled another drive narrowly wide of Kraft’s goal.

Langerak dealt capably with a bobbling Pranjic toe-poke, but there was a let-off at the other end when Hummels’ close-range shot was blocked and Barrios found the crowd from the rebound. The action quietened for a time before Langerak efficiently dealt with a Robben free-kick, Hummels made an important intervention from Pranjic’s cross, and Schweinsteiger’s header looped wide of the far stick just before the break.

Breno took over from the below-par Badstuber for the second half, but Schweinsteiger was the first FCB man in defensive action, hoofing off the line from Großkreutz. Van Gaal sent on Toni Kroos for Luiz Gustavo, with Pranjic reverting to left-back as the champions camped out in the leaders’ half, but BVB were a threat on the break and Kraft reacted well to palm Götze’s drive round for a corner.

The respite was but temporary as Hummels rose above Schweinsteiger to nod Borussia’s third in at the far post. It meant the champions were left with a mountain to climb, and there were distinctly some heavy legs for a spell as Munich regrouped. Ribery had the crowd on its feet with a run and shot, before Langerak shone on his debut with a superb reflex save to deny Gomez.

Miro Klose replaced Müller for the closing stages, before Ribery fizzed a shot across the face of goal and Kroos smashed a drive just wide of the target, although Pranjic had to clear a Lewandowski header off the line as the leaders kept up the pressure on a good day for them and a very poor one for the home side.

Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley

MATCH STATS

Borussia Dortmund - Bayern Munich 1-3 (H-T: 1-2)

Borussia Dortmund: Kraft - Lahm, Tymoshchuk, Badstuber (46 Breno), Luiz Gustavo (58 Kroos) - Schweinsteiger, Pranjic - Robben, Müller (78 Klose), Ribery - Gomez

Substitutes: Butt, Van Buyten, Ottl, Altintop

Bayern Munich: Langerak - Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - Bender, Sahin (89 Kehl) - Götze, Lewandowski, Großkreutz (82 Da Silva) - Barrios (74 Blasczykowski)

Referee: Manuel Gräfe (Berlin)

Spectators: 69,000 (capacity)

Goals: 0-1 Barrios (9), 1-1 Gustavo (16), 1-2 Sahin (18), 1-3 Hummels (60)

Yellow Cards: Robben, Schweinsteiger / Lewandowski, Schmelzer, Sahin

Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)