Perhaps the best moment to capture it all was when Leon Goretzka gave Bayern Munich a 3-2 lead in the 87th minute. In that moment, as the Borussia Dortmund players looked desolate at the Allianz Arena, some even slumped to the floor, came the realisation that it just always happens. No matter how it goes, Dortmund find a way to lose Bayern Munich.
Dortmund Rue What Might Have Been at Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund Glum Against Bayern Munich Again
Only 74 seconds had been played when Erling Haaland put them into the lead, and just seven minutes later, Haaland put Dortmund two up at the home of the champions. Yet, Dortmund wouldn’t keep their lead – let alone cushion – going into halftime.
It wasn’t just that Dortmund blew a two-goal lead at Bayern Munich to lose by two goals. It was that, even when Dortmund went up by two and were strolling in celebration, we weren’t convinced. We’d been here too many times before. Bayern Munich still seemed like favourites even when two goals down, and you could see the writing on the wall when it became 2-1.
Dortmund could easily have gone three ahead – and started to look like the real deal – had Thomas Meunier made a better decision. Instead, it was Robert Lewandowski who reduced the deficit at the other end, and the rest felt inevitable.
Bayern Step up as Dortmund Rue What Might Have Been
For the first time in a while, Bayern Munich had the onus on them while they played Dortmund. With RB Leipzig breathing down their necks, defeat would have seen Hansi Flick’s side slip to second place in the Bundesliga. Yet, despite going two goals down, Bayern rose to the occasion and found a way to win.
This is probably the starkest highlight of mentality between both sides. Bayern remain where Dortmund aim to be, to become frontrunners for the Bundesliga once more. But Dortmund have constantly shown a mental fragility and a need for a cultural revolution. So, for the umpteenth time, Die Schwarzgelben were made to rue what might have been.
What if Meunier had made a better call midway through the first half? Or if they had beaten Bayern Munich in May 2020? What if they had seen off Niko Kovac’s Die Roten in 2019? What if they won games when they didn’t always play well? They’d probably be in the top two, and not in sixth place.
Dortmund’s Future and Need to Match Bayern
But Dortmund are in sixth place, four points behind fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt. Edin Terzic’s side will need no telling on the impact of missing out on Champions League football next season. It’s a potential financial setback, which leads to more questions over the future of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho.
The performance in the first half, or first quarter of the game, would offer optimism for Dortmund. But this has been the case for a while for the side. Too much optimism against Bayern, but not enough material gain to really make a difference.
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