Source: Stuart Franklin/Bongarts–Zimbio
For the first time since April 2012, Borussia Dortmund defeated Bayern Munich at the Signal Iduna Park (or Westfallenstadion for the traditionalists), 1-0, on a goal by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The win for BVB move them to third in the table. The loss for Bayern also means that for the first time since September 2015 (40 Matchdays), Bayern will not end the weekend on top of the Bundesliga. That will go to RB Leipzig by three points following their 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.
The 11th minute strike was the result of a series of passes by BVB that culminated with Mario Götze slotting the ball to an unmarked Aubameyang who toe-poked it past Manuel Neuer. Aubameyang nearly had a second on a breakaway caused by a poor giveaway by Bayern in the second half, but Neuer was able to make the save.
Bayern had their chances to equalize, but didn’t quite have wherewithal to find it. Franck Ribery had a goal chalked off for offside and Xabi Alonso had a shot rattle of the crossbar just beyond the hour mark. The last chance went to Robert Lewandowski who headed just wide in stoppage time.
“We’re not happy about losing this tough match,” said Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti. “Dortmund started well, then we found our way into the game. After 20 minutes we were better – against opponents who were still strong. I’m satisfied with the performance against strong opponents, but not with the result.”
BVB manager Thomas Tuchel praised his team’s ability to withstand the visitors’ pressure.
“It was very difficult, we suffered for long spells,” said Tuchel. “But when you’re up against Bayern you can’t expect to get off lightly. You have to stand up to it, that was our goal. It was a top performance.”
Both teams are in Champions League action in midweek. Dortmund host Legia Warsaw on Tuesday at 1:45pm CT on the Fox Soccer 2 Go app and FoxSoccer2go.com. Bayern are away to FC Rostov of Russia on Wednesday at 11am CT on Fox Sports 1.
