Der Klassiker: Bayern demolish disappointing Dortmund

Bayern Munich 4 -1 Borussia Dortmund

(Ribery 4', Lewandowski 10' 68', Robben 49' - Guerreiro 20')

It wasn't supposed to be this easy. Even with home advantage and a 15 point gap over Borussia Dortmund going in to Saturday's game, Bayern Munich couldn't have expected to swat their rivals away so easily that they'd spend the last 15 minutes with their foot off the gas and their thoughts on Real Madrid.

The points gap now stands at 18 - and the gap between the teams on the pitch seemed just as wide, the Bavarians pairing penetration with an incredible 71 per cent of possession.

The match started at a pace as frantic as some of the hype that preceded it, Ousmane Dembele screwed a shot wide very early on but, as is so often the case, it was Bayern that landed the first telling blow.

After some fluid interplay deep in Dortmund's half, Thiago worked the ball out to Philipp Lahm on the right. The skipper looked up and saw Franck Ribery backtracking away from the retreating defenders before picking out the Frenchman, who fired past Bürki from near the penalty spot.

Before Dortmund had a chance to catch their breath it was two, and the uphill task had become a mountain. Again, Ribery was involved – his driving run drawing a foul from Marc Bartra five yards outside the 'D'. Robert Lewandowski waved away David Alaba and curled the free kick over the wall and in for his 25th league goal of this season.

Dortmund appeared daunted by the size of their task, with Lewandowski and Robben going close soon after Bayern's second, but they were handed a lifeline by an uncharacteristic Arturo Vidal error. The midfielder was under little pressure when the ball fell to him in the box but his clearance was abject and fell to Raphaël Guerreiro 18 yards out. The Portuguese midfielder still had plenty to do though and lashed in to the top corner on the bounce.

Bayern had several chances to extend their lead before the break, with Robben going close several times with his trademark darts in from the right flank but none were taken. Dortmund failed to heed those multiple warnings or address the problems that Marcel Schmelzer was having  with the Dutchman at the break.

They were punished almost immediately after the restart, with the latest incarnation of the goal the 33-year-old has been scoring in Europe's top leagues for 15 years or more. This time he danced his way from the right flank in to the area inviting challenges from the Dortmund defenders. When these came they were tepid, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Schmelzer both dangled a foot, neither got near the ball and Robben curled low past Bürki with his left foot. It was no less than Bayern deserved.

The hosts largely kept Dortmund  – and their top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – at arm's length, however the Gabonese striker almost got one back when he latched on to a long ball but his shot didn't quite have enough power. To make things worse for Aubameyang, Bayern immediately broke and won a penalty when Lewandowski went over in the box as he tried to round Bürki. The Polish striker buried the spotkick to move a goal ahead of Aubameyang in the race for the golden boot.

The race for the title, if it can even still be called that, is nowhere near as close.

 

As it happened