Bayern Munich Rip Dortmund Apart
February 19, 2005
Roy Makaay was Bayern's man of the day in Munich's Olympic Stadium. Dortmund's defense left the Dutch striker entirely too much space in the beginning of the game and paid dearly for it.
Makaay kept the 53,000 home team fans riveted by scoring a pair of goals himself and assisting in tow more during the game's first 45 minutes. In the second half he put in one more to seal a personal hat trick and his team's highest win of the season.
Bayern had something to prove
"After the loss in Bielefeld we had some matter to take care of and the team knew it," said Bayern Munich trainer Felix Magath. "We were lucky that we got a goal early and could pile on another one a little bit later."
It was Hasan Salihamidzic who opened scoring in the fifth minute, and Makaay put in his first of three exceptional goals just one minute later.
The two quick goals gave Dortmund a shock they never recovered from. Bert Van Marwijk watched his BVB squad's defense fall apart time after time while his strikers never worked their way into a truly dangerous position.
Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller inexplicably allowed Makaay's tame shot to squirm under his body in the game's 34th minute, but was helpless earlier in the 28th minute when Claudio Pizarro volleyed home.
Even a locker room talk couldn't bring Dortmund back to life and Makaay ended the scoring by putting a shot between Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller's legs in the 54th minute, giving Bayern Munich its third home win in a row.
Bankruptcy not an excuse
For Borussia Dortmund, the crushing loss moved what until now was only a financial crisis to the playing field. On Thursday the team announced they were on the edge of bankruptcy. The disastrous defeat thus capped what has already been a distressing week.
"We were not confident," said Dortmund coach Van Marwijk. "We were not in the game for a moment after falling behind early. Our financial problems are not an alibi."
The win means Bayern will stay in first place atop the Bundesliga table, by how many points will remain unclear until 2nd-placed Schalke 04 play against Borussia Mönchengladbach Sunday afternoon.
Munich started the game without German national team captain Michael Ballack and also let Torsten Frings and Owen Hargreaves have a break before this week's Champions League match against Arsenal London.
Salihamidzic and Martin Demichelis took the starters' places in midfield and, along with Mehmet Scholl, proved they are capable of playing reliably for the German league's top team.