FC Bayern
It's 45 metres tall, weighs 40 tonnes and is made from 1,200 fir trees. It's the biggest Christmas tree in the world and is located in the city centre of Dortmund. Their football team have been similarly growing in stature and confidence at home recently. In six league matches at Signal-Iduna Park so far this season, Borussia Dortmund have recorded a goal difference of 18-6 and celebrated wins in all six games. Naturally, expectations were high that the beloved home team could snatch a point or three from the league leaders from Munich and thus help celebrate a weekend which saw the opening of the Christmas market surrounding the enormous tree. Dortmund's fans and their team were at least determined not to gift Bayern as many presents as in last season's 4-0 home defeat. On the contrary, the aim was to finally beat Bayern in Dortmund for the first time since 2018 (3-2). In the end, however, the plan fell just short as a late header from Jamal Musiala secured a more-than-deserved point in a 1-1 draw.
Unimpressed by statistics
Jamal Musiala is thanked by his team-mates after his important equaliser in Dortmund. | Getty
Despite Dortmund's impressive home statistics, the 111th German Klassiker wasn't a true top-of-the-table clash this time around. As good as Nuri Sahin's team have performed at home, four defeats and only one draw in five away games meant that last season's Champions League runners-up were only fifth-placed in the domestic league.
As such, Bayern started the game unimpressed by the opposition's home strength and pressured Dortmund with the confidence of league leaders so hard that the hosts threatened to be crushed by the weight on a number of occassions early on. After ten minutes, the possession stat stood at 90% in favour of the visitors, but both Minjae Kim (3') and Leroy Sané (8') missed good opportunities. Bayern were making it very clear just how unintimidated they were to be facing the best home team in the Bundesliga in front of 81,365 spectators.
Huge chance not utilised: Thomas Müller fails to beat Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. | Imago
Over Neuer for the 1-0
The Reds completely dominated for the first 20 minutes, barely allowing their opponents to breathe. But then suddently, BVB escaped down the left side. Centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck spread the ball out to Jamie Gittens, who with a drop of the shoulder left the aggressive Konrad Laimer in his wake and fired the ball powerfully over the top of Manuel Neuer's head from a tight angle to make it 1-0 the hosts (27'). There it was, Dortmund's brazen confidence: 690 competitive minutes without conceding a goal were history for Bayern with one swift blow.
"That allowed Dortmund to gain momentum," said Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany. "Dortmund scored the opener from their only chance and we had to play catch-up," bemoaned board member for sport Max Eberl. The goal certainly affected the visitors, who lost their dominance and assuredness in possession for the remainder of the half. Not helped when top goalscorer Harry Kane signalled that he could not continue any longer. Two setbacks in the space of a few minutes was too much, even for the confident league leaders. "We were annoyed because we were unable to make our mark on the game in the first half like we wanted to," analysed Thomas Müller.
"We showed character"
But Kompany's boys returned to the pitch alert, focussed and bursting with energy minutes before the home team from Dortmund did. It was obvious Bayern were now more than determined to return to their dominant ways and push forward towards Dortmund's box relentlessly. “We created many chances and showed our mentality,” said Musiala. “We showed character, we had speed, dribblings, combinations and created chances,” added a satisfied Kompany. But despite Bayern's rediscovered dominance, which was increasingly reflecteed in the stats with each wave of attack, the be-all and end-all of football was desperately missing from Bayern's game: a goal.
Müller was denied by BVB keeper Gregor Kobel following a beautiful assist by Musiala (48'), who himself along with Sané came close to scoring with shots that went just wide. Bayern now firmly held the reigns in hand and had more shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the second half than in the entire first. At the other end of the pitch, Neuer showed a great reaction in a one-v-one with Marcel Sabitzer when the Austrian suddenly came close to finishing a Dortmund counter-attack (62').
Like a Christmas tree falling down
Admittedly, Dortmund still had their moments. In the closing stages of the game, Neuer was forced to punch a ball away from a dangerous free-kick only seconds before Alphonso Davies threw himself into the rebound from Maximilian Beier, like a Christmas tree crashing to the ground. With few exceptions, however, Dortmund were kept busy clinging on in and around their own box, where Bayern had no fewer than 26 touches of the ball until full time.
“Bayern pressured us well in the second half,” admitted BVB captain Schlotterbeck after the final whistle. “The team invested everything today.” And head coach Nuri Şahin added: “At the end I felt we were holding on.” Once more, however, it was Musiala who finally cracked it for Bayern with a header. Following a fine cross by Michael Olise, the 21-year-old glanced a precise header to the bottom left corner. “It was a very good cross,” praised Musiala, who has now scored seven goals in his last eight games, four of them headers. “My technique was good, which is why this one makes me happier than the goal I headed in the DFB Cup.” Team-mate Müller proved impressed: “That was great placement into the corner. I take my hat off to him.”
A record tree with beautiful colours
Admittedly, the goal was late but it was more than deserved. “In the second half, we were clearly the better team, we wanted to score the equaliser and win this game,” commented Bayern's sporting director Christoph Freund. “I would have been happy with a point after the first half. After the second half, I don't think you can say we didn't deserve to win,” Eberl said.
Finally, the day had yet another pleasant surprise in store for the Bayern fans. As the Christmas markets in the city centre opened, Dortmund's record-breaking Christmas tree was briefly lit in the actual colours of the city, red and white.
Harry Kane had to be substituted in Dortmund with an injury:
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