Bundesliga leaders Bayern and champions Borussia Dortmund cancelled each other out and shared the spoils in an intriguing if hardly action-packed encounter on Saturday evening, with the Reds stopping BVB’s four-game winning streak in the fixture, but having to make do with their second league draw of the season.
The 71,000 capacity crowd packed into the Allianz Arena despite the sub-zero temperatures saw two evenly-matched sides contest a tactically absorbing first half, but there was little goalmouth action to warm the fans’ hands and hearts. Instead, the most noteworthy incident was an unwanted one as Holger Badstuber was carried off on a stretcher with a suspected torn cruciate.
BVB were the livelier team in the early exchanges after the retstart, but Bayern resumed command on the hour and Toni Kroos opened the scoring with a fine solo effort midway through the second half. Mario Götze levelled seven minutes later, and although the league leaders went in search of a winner right to the end, Borussia keeper Roman Weidenfeller was in scintillating form on the night.
A second draw in the 15 league games so far means FCB are up to 38 points, now eight ahead of second-placed Leverkusen, with champions BVB 11 points off the lead two games prior to the midpoint of the campaign. FCB are next in action on Wednesday, when BATE Borisov are due in the Bavarian capital for the final Champions League Group F fixture.
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