Bayern Munich Blow Borussia Dortmund Off the Field in Der Klassiker | Recap and Analysis

Bayern Munich met their challenge on Sunday against Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga leaders put five goals past their longtime rivals to win 5-1.

Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski both scored a Doppelpack in the match, the two now both in the top three in the Bundesliga in goals scored. Mario Götze also tallied a goal against his former team as Bayern tied their own Bundesliga record with their eighth straight victory to start the season.

The match was off to the races right when referee Marco Fritz blew his whistle to start the match. Both teams tried to swipe the ball from the other high up the field, players constantly swapping positions to get better looks.

The end-to-end contest eventually gave way to a goal, and Müller was the culprit. Jérôme Boateng spotted Müller's run and launched a pass over the top of Dortmund's defense. A flick was enough for Müller to stymie the charging Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki and tap a shot to a wide-open net.

An already high-flying contest cranked up a notch after that, Dortmund trying to quickly equalize before the match got out of hand. A misguided Henrikh Mkhitaryan challenge on Thiago Alcantara awarded Bayern with a penalty, and Müller misdirected Bürki to complete his first-half brace. Dortmund then caught Bayern unawares defensively, and Sokratis Papastathopoulos whacked a perfect cross to the far post to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Even halftime could not slow down the momentum, but the match began to shift into Bayern's favor. Lewandowski needed just 22 seconds to score after Jerome Boateng launched another rainbow lob over the top. Bürki and Mats Hummels could not clear the ball away as Lewandowski whacked the ball into another open net.

The pressure on Bayern started to ooze away, able to sit a little deeper as Dortmund tried to scramble back into the match. The Rekordmeister took advantage of their chances though, Götze even aggressive enough to put in an early cross for Robert Lewandowski to finish for his second goal. Götze was able to find one of his own not long after, jumping on his own misplaced pass to Thiago to finish another chance off.

Dortmund could not handle Bayern's defensive presence in midfield, though they got some free kicks in promising positions. Marco Reus, coming on in the second half to try to chase the game, could not convert any of them as they suffer their worst loss six years.

With the result, Bayern now take a seven point lead atop the Bundesliga table, remaining perfect in their domestic fixtures this season. Borussia Dortmund remain in second with rivals Schalke losing to Köln earlier in the afternoon.

The Match

Bayern Munich (5-1) Borussia Dortmund

FCB: Thomas Müller (26', 35'), Robert Lewandowski (46', 58'), Mario Götze (66')
BVB: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (36')

Bayern XI: Neuer – Alaba, Boateng, Martínez, Lahm – Götze, Alonso, Thiago, Douglas – Müller – Lewandowski

Dortmund XI: Bürki – Piszczek, Hummels, Bender, Papastathopoulos – Weigl, Gündogan – Castro, Kagawa, Mkhitaryan – Aubameyang

Instant Analysis

• For once, Bayern did not try to hide what they were doing, playing two center forwards, two wingers, and a proper defense. The no B.S. approach led them to easily cut through surprisingly-open Dortmund midfield, and chances were not hard to find. Boateng's two launch-ball assists exemplified the simplicity perfectly, for those kinds of goals seemed like a thing of the past. This result showed Pep Guardiola that he does not need to get too cute sometimes, and the quality of his players is ultimately what gives his team the edge.
• As good as Bayern played, one has to wonder what was going though Thomas Tuchel's head to field the defense he did. Sure, Marcel Schmelzer may have needed a rest and sure, Sven Bender could have been man-marking Robert Lewandowski, but this was the third worst defensive display Bayern have seen all season. Pointless now in three match days, Dortmund need to take the much-needed international break to regroup and remain in Champions League contention.
• Outside of a possible red card challenge from David Alaba and a half-minded goal concession, Bayern's defense looked really good. The central defenders could be aggressive with a midfielder or a fullback restoring the balance behind them, and they looked very organized despite only playing together twice before this season. Javi Martinez's strong return was a great sight, and though he is not pressing high up the field anymore, his inclusion into the team makes the defense much more solid.