Story by
BVB Earns Point in Munich Thanks to Goals by Guirassy and Silva
- Story by
- BVB Earns Point in Munich Thanks to Goals by Guirassy and Silva
BVB Earns Point in Munich Thanks to Goals by Guirassy and Silva
BVB took the field with nearly the same starting lineup from the DFB-Pokal meeting with Bremen (3-2 win), with the only change being Daniel Svensson for Julian Ryerson. However, Head Coach Niko Kovac opted for a completely different tactical formation. Joane Gadou, Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck and Svensson made up the back four in a 4-4-2 base formation with an asymmetrical, right-leaning midfield: While Maxi Beier occupied the right flank, Felix Nmecha operated in the half-space on the left. Jobe Bellingham and Joey Veerman were positioned centrally.
Bayern got off to the better start and hit the post in the tenth minute through Michael Olise. But the Borussia players regrouped and grew into the match by the minute. After Carney Chukwuemeka and Maxi Beier saw their shots blocked by the stingy FCB backline (14'), the highly active Jobe Bellingham released a shot from 18 meters (roughly 19.7 yards) out, forcing Jonas Urbig into a save. The Bayern goalkeeper parried the ball around the right post (22'). With the exception of an individual run by Ismael Saibiri — which was stifled by Gregor Kobel and resulted in the FCB man having to come off injured (24') — the Black & Yellow increasingly set the tone in this intriguing match. In the 34th minute, Bayern passed the ball around in its own penalty area, first inviting pressure and then allowing Bellingham to fire into the open net from six meters (roughly 6.6 yards) out. However, VAR chalked the goal off, penalizing Chukwuemeka for being offside.
Instead of taking the lead, BVB found itself falling behind on the ensuing Bayern attack. After an errant pass in midfield, the ball found its way to Konrad Laimer, who was initially denied by the outstanding Kobel but had it fall right back to his feet for an easy finish (38'). To the Black & Yellow's credit, they remained proactive after the frustrating setback and nearly equalized before halftime through Bellingham, whose shot went narrowly wide (41'). Chukwuemeka and Beier then had quality looks of their own inside stoppage time.
Advertisement
After the break, BVB lacked some of its physicality and assertivenss from the first half. After Kobel had to put his quality on full display to keep Laimer from getting a second (47'), referee Tobias Stieler pointed to the spot after a brief delay, having spotted a handball by Nmecha. Harry Kane smashed the penalty kick off the crossbar (57').
BVB subsequently battled back: Nico Schlotterbeck won over possession from Olise in the opposition half and found Chukwuemeka, who picked out Guirassy on the left side of the box. The imposing striker controlled the ball thanks to his exquisite technique and found the gap between Urbig's glove and the post with a low shot, leveling the score at 1-1 (60').
However, the game would only remain tied for six minutes: Kane nodded a cross by Joshua Kimmich into the path of center back Dayot Upamecano, who had joined the attack and headed home from the doorstep for 2-1 (66'). Although Bayern amassed a considerable advantage in shots after the break, the Black & Yellow continued to show grit and determination en route to making it 2-2 in the 89th minute of play. FCB failed to clear after a BVB corner, and Silva fired the ball into the far-side netting from the right side of the area (89'). In the end, Silva and company were fortunate to escape with a point, as Lennart Karl's spectacular long-range effort bounced off the top of the crossbar (90'+5).
BAYERN MUNICH – BORUSSIA DORTMUND 2-2 (1-0)
Bundesliga, Matchday 8
Advertisement
FCB:Urbig – Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies – Kimmich, Pavlovic – Kane – Olise (74' Karl), Saibari (29' Brown), Gnabry (31' Stanisic) Bench:Ulreich, Boey, Ito, Tah, Bischof, Binder
BVB:Kobel – Gadou (87' Ryerson), Anton, Schlotterbeck, Svensson – Beier (67' Sabitzer), Bellingham (87' Inacio), Veerman, Nmecha (76' Silva) – Guirassy, Chukwuemeka (67' Karetsas) Bench:Meyer, Bensebaini, Nwaneri, Mane Unavailable:Can (individual training), Konstantelias (torn ACL), Lerma (muscle issues)
