“Meep, Meep, Meep”: Reactions to Bayern Munich’s Der Klassiker victory

Bayern Munich brought home three points on Tuesday after unleashing a masterclass performance against Borussia Dortmund in the most anticipated league match of the season. With the victory, Die Roten extended their lead in the table by seven points. With both teams delivering their best performances, the quality of the match was top-notch and a delight to watch.

If Hansi Flick isn’t a gift from God, I don’t know what he is! Since the day he took over, Flick has made us fall in love with him over and over again. With the whole world watching Der Klassiker, it was more important than ever for both sides to deliver their best performances. Flick spoke highly of the game and especially of Bayern’s performance. He said (FCBayern.com):

We wanted to win and take a big step today. We’ve achieved that, I’m very pleased with my team’s performance. We were very focused, very, very resolute, highly alert and sometimes very bold. It’s always important to me that our quality is high, in training and in matches.

When asked about whether we can see Kimmich captaining Bayern in the future, Flick replied that he would rather not comment on it and will wait and see what the future brings. Speaking about the German international, he added:

He is someone with whom you, as a coach, are very, very satisfied in every training session and in every game because he always gives 100 percent.

The game was a nail biter. There were times when it felt like Dortmund was about to take the three points away and leave Bayern in utter disappointment. Joshua Kimmich’s goal right before half time did not guarantee victory and there was a high possibility, throughout the rest of the game, for an alteration in the scoreboard. Manuel Neuer talked about how important both the match and the victory were:

I’m glad about the victory on the road. It was an important match. We’re always extra motivated away to Dortmund. You could see that. The one-goal lead wasn't a real cushion. Sometimes Dortmund got into the danger zone in the second half. Of course we didn’t take all our chances. Now it’s up to us. It was an important sign and an important victory.

Everyone tried their best and gave the most of what they could, but Joshua Kimmich emerged as the real hero after putting the ball inside the Yellow Goal a few minutes before halftime. Here’s what the young midfielder had to say about the game:

We now have a good cushion on Dortmund. That was brutally important today. It’ll be mentally difficult for Dortmund to keep up. We have to reaffirm this lead in the next games. You could see that it was very, very intense and we had to work our way up to the three points. It was relatively balanced, especially in the first half we made many simple mistakes. Dortmund were very bold.

Although they failed to find the back of the net, it needs to be mentioned that the hosts gave their best and sometimes made things hard for the Bavarians. In the post match interview, Lucien Favre spoke about the game and how the title race and how hard it is going to be for them now:

I think it was a very good 90 minutes from us. The first 30 minutes were good, after that we sat a bit too deep. The second half was also good. We had opportunities, but the last pass, the pass before, didn’t work. We could have won, or rather at least earned a draw. It’ll be hard now in the title race. To claw back seven points in six games, that would be brutally difficult.

Apart from the match itself being extremely absorbing, there are several interesting stats in regard to it.

• According to Opta, Joshua Kimmich set a new Bayern Munich record by covering 13.73 kms. He has also scored three goals from outside the box this season, which is more than any other Bayern player.
• And as always, Alphonso Davies was as fast as Flash (OR, the Roadrunner) reaching a top speed of 35.27 km/h.

• Der Klassiker was Manuel Neuer’s 400th appearance in the Bundesliga — and the captain managed to keep a clean sheet.

As the players cool themselves down from the heat of the Klassiker, they stand at the top of the table with 64 points, seven ahead of Lucien Favre’s side. The next match will be played on Saturday against Fortuna Düsseldorf at the Allianz Arena.

Mia San Mia!