Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland fail to provide spark as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund once again
Borussia Dortmund's title hopes were all but ended by current champions Bayern Munich after they slipped to a 1-0 defeat to the Bavarian giants.
Joshua Kimmich's audacious chip from outside the area proved to be the winning goal - a strike that has helped Bayern take a significant step in the direction of an eighth consecutive Bundesliga title.
For the second time this season, we're left to dissect a Dortmund performance that demonstrates they are still in the shadow of Bayern. This young, exciting group of players that has been assembled by Lucien Favre provided hope that maybe, just maybe, the dominance we had seen at the top of the league was about to be broken. And yet, following the full-time whistle, Dortmund are once again left having to regroup and go again in the following campaign.
It'd be unfair to say that the performances in the two games against Bayern were similar. A positive, of sorts, for Dortmund is that they actually had opportunities this time around. They seemed unafraid to take the game to Bayern and attack the spaces being left behind the defensive line. Regardless of the performance though, the results remained the same.
The meeting at the beginning of November gave us a Dortmund side who lacked ideas. Bayern's aggressive pressing suffocated the space around them; the influential attacking midfield trio were given no room to operate in. Dortmund managed a measly four successful dribbles that day, a significantly lower figure than the 13.6 they have averaged across the Bundesliga season.
"It was a very, very weak performance," Favre stated after their hammering at the Allianz Arena. "You saw today that it was way too little from us. Way too little."
This game was better but was not enough. Their dribbles tally finished on 14, there were a total of 13 shots compared to Bayern's eleven and Manuel Neuer found himself making more saves than Roman Burki. The 90 minutes gave us a slightly different tale; the full-time whistle provided a very familiar outcome.
Favre's comments will make for interesting reading tonight as he comes to terms with another side who look pretty on the eye, play some attractive football but ultimately have little to show for it when the season comes to an end. That was the story at Monchengladbach, that was the story at Nice, and unfortunately it appears that history is repeating itself at Dortmund.
The introduction of these younger players was meant to usher in the new era for Dortmund. For too long have Bayern reigned supreme and Dortmund suffered the consequences; not just on the pitch but in the transfer market as too many players were drawn in by the prospect of a trophy-laden spell at the Allianz Arena.
One of those who did make the switch was Mats Hummels, a crucial part of this Dortmund back line having returned to the club from Bayern in the summer. With the focus on Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, it was Hummels and fellow Dortmund veteran Lukasz Piszczek who rose to the occasion.
There's no doubt that this game was the biggest of Haaland's short stint at the club. Dortmund knew that anything less than three points would seriously damage their prospects of becoming kings of Germany again and they needed everyone, especially Haaland, to perform at a top level.
All eyes were on the Norwegian wonderkid. The TV cameras prior to the game were picking him out at regular intervals and the sight that greeted it was one of determination. Those who linger around the parade ring in search of the horses who look good on the day would have dived straight into Haaland's pre-match goalscorer odds.
Even the first minute reflected that. Neuer rushing out, as Neuer does, left Haaland with a chance to give his side an early lead. He beat the goalkeeper but his weak effort, his only opportunity on target, strolled into the path of Jerome Boateng to smash clear.
That wasn't it for Haaland. The remainder of the contest presented two further opportunities that ended in similar fashion; he just could not beat the experienced head (and body) of Boateng at the back. As he limped off injured with 72 minutes on the clock, there was a slight realisation that maybe this worldwide transfer speculation is coming a little too soon.
There's no doubt that he will develop into a world class talent in the future but we've all been seemingly sucked into the hype that came with the striker. The Haaland hype has been a consistent feature since September. We were singing the praises of a forward who was being touted as the best in the game but the truth is that he has only been playing senior football for four years and this season presents the first in which he's played at an elite level.
The daily reports link another of Europe's elite with a move for Haaland. His 41 goals across the course of the 2019/20 season are just too good for some to turn down and the additional bonus being that he's just 19 years of age means it's an investment that will surely have further benefits in the future.
This isn't trying to argue that one bad game completely undoes the good work so far but the two biggest games of his time at Dortmund have failed to inspire. He followed up a wonderful performance against PSG with a quiet outing in the second leg and then on Tuesday night, against their most competitive domestic rivals, we saw a performance which took Dortmund back to the pre-Haaland days; one that had them struggling along without a goalscorer present.
But as his career progresses, so too will the number of big games he'll be involved in and perhaps that's why an extended spell at Dortmund, playing football at a top level in a single environment, will be beneficial for all parties further down the line.
As for Sancho, it must be acknowledged that he went into this contest carrying some slight fitness issues. He's only been fit enough for appearances from the bench over their last three games and did grab a late assist in the weekend's win over Wolfsburg. The same can't be said this time around.
The England international was introduced from the bench at half-time as Dortmund hoped for some inspiration to get back into the contest. But for the second time against Bayern this season, Sancho failed to provide the spark against their biggest opponents.
His fortunes seemingly went the same way as Haaland's. Sancho wasn't swamped for space as we saw in the first leg but he still couldn't become the creative outlet that Favre would have hoped for when he brought him on. He saw plenty of the ball, floating around the attacking midfield positions looking to be a nuisance for the Bayern defence, but the execution that we've come to expect just wasn't present.
And, in similar fashion to Haaland, maybe that's where the expectations come into play. We've been so used to witnessing Sancho brush aside opponents during his spell at Dortmund that he's a regular feature in Paper Talk. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona; the list just goes on and on.
He's faced Bayern on five separate occasions in the Bundesliga and four of which have ended in defeat. Perhaps more telling is that all five ended without Sancho having a direct influence in one way or another on the scoresheet. He needs to conquer the very best at a domestic level before moving on to bigger things and before the 'next Lionel Messi' shouts can truly be justified.
Borussia Dortmund have been seen as a stepping stone by those that link the top talent with moves elsewhere and as long as they hold that tag they will truly struggle to take Bayern's crown away. They need to be viewed as the destination and the only way that can be achieved is by securing silverware.
Sancho and Haaland will be central to that future success if they can keep them at the club and quiet performances against Bayern are just a part of the process. Their development will benefit from being a part of the group that do take Dortmund to the very top.
And what these contests against Bayern have given us a glimpse of is that it would be dangerous to rush them to bigger clubs elsewhere.
For Dortmund, and for Sancho and Haaland, the title race isn't mathematically over but the evening will likely be spent reflecting on what could have been. They need a major collapse from a team who aren't even stuttering and there is going to be some acceptance that they will have to try again whenever the 2020/21 Bundesliga season begins.
Their young stars will bounce back against Paderborn in their next outing and we'll probably see another performance that brings a handful of goals. But even with a significant result against the Bundesliga's basement club, the impact of Tuesday night will still be at the forefront of their mind.
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