Harry Kane guides Bayern Munich to victory over Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in front of 75,000 fans in a completely sold-out Allianz Arena. Harry Kane (21′) and Michael Olise (79′) were the scorers for Bayern. Bayern dominated the first 45 minutes, but it took almost until the 80th minute before they defeated their biggest challenger. Julian Brandt (84′) scored the only goal for Dortmund.

With the victory, Bayern has now taken full control of the Bundesliga after just seven matchdays. The Rekordmeister are five points ahead of RB Leipzig, who they defeated 6-0 on matchday 1, and six points ahead of VfB Stuttgart.

For Dortmund, this was the third game this season in which they dropped points. Black and Yellow have dropped points against St. Pauli (3-3), Leipzig (1-1) and today against their biggest rivals.

As a result, Dortmund is now seven points behind Bayern. Does this mean the title race is over? “I wouldn’t go that far,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said after the match. “The truth is also that we have often played a great first half of the season, but that we are struggling in the second half of the season.”

Bayern bosses highlighted Kimmich’s statement. “No one won the title on matchday 7,” said Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. “It’s not something I think about,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany added. “From tomorrow everything will be back to zero. I also have the feeling that the boys are not worried about the number of points we have; they just want to win everything.”

Still, Bayern’s dominance in the Bundesliga at the moment is frightening, and it’s hard to imagine anyone could stop the Munich club from winning its 35th German championship.

At least Dortmund made it a game at the Allianz Arena every now and then. Important considering that the start of the match was a disaster for the visitors. Bayern played Dortmund off the pitch and the Black and Yellows were fortunate to be only one goal behind at half-time.

“We were not aggressive enough in the first half,” Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac said after the match. “But that’s what you have to do against a great team. We really struggled with Kane dropping deep. In the second half we adapted and handled him a little better.”

Despite Dortmund’s improvement in the second half, Kane was unplayable. The striker even scored his 400th goal in his club career against Dortmund tonight. It could be one of the most important moments of his career.

“He was very complete today,” said Kompany when asked about his star striker. “Of course he scores the goal, but he also helped defensively and had an important tackle against Nico Schlotterbeck. He is currently in incredible form. We are enjoying him at a stage when he is playing well.”

Kompany is rightly satisfied with the English striker. He not only scored a decisive goal, but also put in a complete performance. Kane started at number 10 behind Nicolas Jackson and was everywhere on the pitch.

When Dortmund started pushing for an equalizer, Kane helped defensively. Furthermore, his pass before the second goal to find the streaking Luis Díaz was nothing short of world class. Bayern have many world-class players, but in the big games Kane is currently making a big difference, which justifies his $100 million price tag.