Silva the saviour as Dortmund rally late to draw with Bayern Munich
| Photo: Adam Pretty/Getty Images. |
MÜNCHEN (Bulinews) In their 141st-ever meeting, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund played out and exciting and dramatic 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena this evening. The Bavarian giants looked to have held out for parity until Fabio Silva arrived off the bench to secure BVB a point.
On top of an already raucous atmosphere before a ball was kicked, Harry Kane walked out to a hero’s reception. The Englishman raised his recently acquired Ballon d’Or aloft and thanked everyone for their support. Then it was down to business. Both teams had early spells of possession, but Bayern looked more threatening in comparison.
The first notable chance fell the way of the hosts, Alphonso Davies managed to burrow his way into the box. A kind deflection sat up nicely for Michael Olise, catching his half-volley sweetly. The post came to a rooted Gregor Kobel’s rescue. Dortmund also has a sniff at goal, but Bayern’s rearguard remained defiant in protecting Jonas Urbig.
That changed swiftly midway through the half when Bayern’s shot-stopper produced a fine parry low to his right to stop Jobe Bellingham. Kobel followed suit, denying Ismael Saibari in a one-on-one chance. Most worrying for Aaron Danks’ side, the Moroccan limped off the field as Nathaniel Brown filled in as the auxiliary attacking midfielder.
Serge Gnabry fell foul of injury too, forcing Josip Stanisic onto the field prompting Davies to advance on the left flank. Drama was at an all-time high when Dortmund appeared to grab the lead. Kim Min-Jae – at fault for a defensive mix-up – would be bailed out by VAR spotting Carney Chukwuemeka obstructing Urbig as the ball hit the net.
Four minutes later, the first goal arrived for the Bavarians. Olise’s pin-point pass released Konrad Laimer. The Austrian managed to convert at the second time of asking after Kobel’s initial save. Upon the restart, Kobel intervened once again after Olise and Laimer combined on the right for the latter to seek the bottom corner.
Bayern continued to pressure where possible, eventually yielding a penalty when Kane’s volley from a corner struck Felix Nmecha’s hand. Normally ever reliable from the spot, fans got a collector’s item as the Ballon d’Or winner’s penalty thundered back off the aluminium. Four minutes later, Borussia Dortmund struck for parity.
Nico Schlotterbeck stole the ball, fed Chukwuemeka on the right and the Austrian assisted the lurking Guirassy who steered it inside the left post. However, the sides remained level for all of six minutes. Kimmich’s clever chip to the back was redirected by Kane. Dayot Upamecano given the easy task of a tap-in finish.
Entering the closing chapter, Kostas Karetsas, Marcel Sabitzer and Fabio Silva gave BVB fresh legs. The Portuguese marksman would prove to be highly useful in the end. Swivelling in the box, he managed to squeeze the ball beyond Urbig's reach. An eruptions of noise in the away end followed as BVB held out through four minutes of injury time to snatch a vital point.
