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When Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka saw his team fall behind Borussia Dortmund early in Der Klassiker, the 26-year-old had a bit of a “not this again” feeling.
For a team that has been so wildly successful in the 2020/2021 campaign, Bayern Munich’s major “Achilles’ heel” has been the team’s propensity for falling behind early in games.
Goretzka would love to see his squad avoid having slow starts — and also get a bit more lucky early on in games as well.
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“There have been a few times this season where we’ve not been switched on in first 10 minutes or so,” Goretzka said (as captured by Bundesliga.com). “You also have to say we were unlucky. We lost ball at some point, but it wasn’t like they played through us. It was as bad a start as you can imagine, but we have the quality to fight back. It took all our energy. Dortmund dug in defensively, but couldn’t withstand the pressure in the end.”
Goretzka, of course, score the game-winning goal in what eventually would be a 4-2 win over Borussia Dortmund. For BVB interim manager Edin Terzic, the enthusiasm in being able to take advantage of Bayern Munich’s slow start only led to a painful finish.
“We started the first half really well, but finished it poorly,” Terzic said. “Between times, there was a lot of Bayern pressing. We had the chance to score a third, but then failed to put Bayern under any pressure. In the second half we wanted to press more in their half. We did a good job at times, but Bayern did fantastically well.”