Five observations on FC Bayern Munich’s thrilling 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich’s eagerly awaited match against Borussia Dortmund did not disappoint. In what was a thrilling encounter from start to finish, Bayern parted ways with a last-minute draw after a late slump. Super entertaining for the neutral football fan.

cage fight

That’s a good way to sum up the game. Both teams came ready to throw punches and neither held back. This game was full of rough physical moves, vicious tackles and some great attacking sequences. A wonderful footballing performance from both sides and kudos to Dortmund for rising like a phoenix from the ashes and setting Bayern’s papier-mâché defense on fire. Four goals, wonderful football and blasphemous glorious refereeing… what more could a football fan ask for?

Musiala and Sané are unstoppable

This is one of the hottest attacking duos in world football right now and they’re getting better game by game. Jamal Musiala scored two assists in the game with great timed runs and good vision, while Leroy Sané pulled in a powerful shot that the keeper could only deflect into the net. The form of these wingers is crucial as they both change the game. With Serge Gnabry being a very hot and cold player and Sadio Mané having an offside fetish, it’s up to these two to create and finish chances in big games, which they are already doing brilliantly this season.

Nagelsmann’s substitutions were actually good

Julian Nagelsmann has received a lot of unjustified hate lately and he would no doubt be blamed for that outcome. With all due respect, his substitutions were all very well thought out and immediately had a positive impact. Stanišić dominated the left-back and was incredible throughout, Mazraoui had a superb time at RB and Coman introduced tricks and stretched Dortmund’s defence, giving Bayern more space in the last third.

De Ligt’s substitution comes after the player appeared to be suffering from a couple of ailments, which was unfortunate. Upamecano had a nightmare performance in the last 20 minutes which is confusing as he was a nightmare for Dortmund attack for most of the game. It’s really not that big of a jump from “Supamecano” to “Upamecan-oh,” which seems to be the problem. The player just isn’t consistent, even within 90 minutes.

That being said, Coman’s red card foul was unacceptable. You just can’t blame the coach for that. The defense got caught snoozing in the closing seconds and again there’s no excuse for that. Would De Ligt’s substitution have prevented the goal? Big maybe. Could the coach have predicted Coman’s red? Absolutely not. The team gave Dortmund the draw and that’s just not good enough.

Bayern Munich needs to get better.

Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

The referee was a disgrace

Referees should be held accountable for their decisions. This is being discussed all over Europe, especially since shambolic refereeing is not limited to games in the Bundesliga, but happens everywhere. In that game, however, the refereeing was outrageous and that wasn’t going to happen in a Sunday league game. Jude Bellingham let Davies eat his boot and escaped unharmed. NOT EVEN A YELLOW. I mean look at this:

Davies was taken to hospital shortly afterwards. That’s just not acceptable. Coman gets a red for hugging Adeyemi, but Bellingham runs away with his horrific challenge. There have been several other cases where play was allowed to continue after bad fouls on Bayern attackers, but these are a little easier to swallow. But this? What if players end up with career-changing injuries? When will referees ever be accountable to players, coaches and fans? Deniz Aytekin with a circus performance.

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“Supamecano” or “Upamecan-oh”?

It’s incredibly frustrating to concede last-minute goals. It’s embarrassing when the defense shuts down in the last 15 minutes of a game and concedes twice. This is certainly not an attempt to single out a defender as Pavard was also at fault for Dortmund’s second. One player who has been terrible at both Dortmund goals and has been quite inconsistent throughout his Bayern career is Dayot Upamecano, who just needs to get better. A top defender needs to be alert at all times and throw in everything and the kitchen sink for the full 90. Look no further than his French teammate Lucas Hernández.

Stanišić and Mazraoui were excellent. Can’t ask for much more from them. However, the CBs must be better. Pavard was poor at the very end and Upamecano ruined what could have been a great night for him. We hope Lucas returns soon if Bayern are set to fight for three major trophies this season.

Interested in more analysis of the game? Why not check out our postgame podcast? Listen below or on Spotify.

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