RB Leipzig went on top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after beating Freiburg. Borussia Dortmund went on top of Bayern Munich on Saturday after scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes. But as is usually the case in Germany, at the end of the day the Bavarians were on top of both Dortmund and the Bundesliga.
Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick and Leon Goretzka netted the winner in the 88th minute as Bayern Munich rallied past Borussia Dortmund 4-2 on Saturday at the Allianz Arena. Erling Haaland scored a brace within nine minutes but left injured on the hour mark as Dortmund was unable to hold off the inevitable onslaught from the German and European champions.
The win surged Bayern back ahead of Leipzig with 55 points through 24 matches, two ahead of Tyler Adams’ side that crushed Freiburg 3-0 earlier in the day. Dortmund meanwhile is still struggling to even reach the Champions League qualification positions, staying in sixth, four points back of fourth-place Eintracht Frankfurt.
The match was the first-ever Bundesliga game to be broadcast live on ABC, though some local ABC networks showed a prerecorded outdoors show instead for some reason.
Bayern vs Dortmund Highlights (March 6, 2021)
Dortmund always had an uphill battle going into the match with a number of key players unable to play, including Jadon Sancho and Gio Reyna.
But BVB still had Haaland, and he was on fire early, striking twice early on to propel his side to a 2-0 lead.
HAALAND IS INEVITABLE pic.twitter.com/2hYBY6nsXm
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 6, 2021
HAALAND DOUBLE IN UNDER 10 MINUTES! pic.twitter.com/BCr7vVjtK7
— ESPN (@espn) March 6, 2021
But Lewandowski had Bayern level by halftime, scoring twice with goals he could probably score in his sleep.
Who else? Robert Lewandowski gets Bayern back in the game! pic.twitter.com/ok99XDcaqQ
— ESPN (@espn) March 6, 2021
WHAT A FIRST HALF
Bayern Munich 2-2 Borussia Dortmund pic.twitter.com/dolVCZG65I— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 6, 2021
The second half had all the energy and verve you could want from a big rivalry, but there wasn’t a breakthrough until the 88th minute.
The go-ahead goal started after Emre Can was muscled off the ball by Leroy Sané — BVB fans definitely thought it was a foul, but I think the call was fine, even if it could have gone either way. Soon after the incident, the ball fell to Goretzka, who first-timed a volley into the bottom corner. It wasn’t a pretty shot, but it was effective.
BAYERN SCORE LATE TO BEAT DORTMUND pic.twitter.com/o4oG7Fz93Y
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 6, 2021
Lewandowski then added his third in the 90th minute just to emphasize he — and not Haaland — is still the best No. 9 in the world. That’s now 31 goals with 10 games left this season, on pace to break Gerd Müller’s record of 40.
HAT TRICK FOR LEWANDOWSKI!
WHAT A PERFORMANCE pic.twitter.com/4t4Di4PFCm— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 6, 2021
It was a tough loss for Dortmund after such a perfect start. It’ll be interesting to see how the club responds with injuries mounting and a second-leg showdown with Sevilla in the Champions League on Tuesday. (BVB won the first leg 3-2.)
Bayern, meanwhile, could use this as further momentum to push toward a ninth straight Bundesliga title and possibly a repeat in the Champions League. The Bavarians routed Lazio 4-1 in the first leg and probably won’t be too worried about the second leg on March 17. Next for Munich: Josh Sargent’s Werder Bremen in a week.
