Borussia Dortmund took a massive step towards defending their Bundesliga title this evening with a surprise 1-0 victory at Bayern Munich.
Mario Götze was the hero for the 2010/11 Bundesliga champions when he scored the match winner midway through the second half.
The game was a tactical battle with both sides cancelling each other out for the majority of the game. Most of the opportunities fell in favour of the home side, but for the third time this season FCB failed to find the back of the net.
Franck Ribery had more than one opportunity to score for the league leaders. He fired over the bar from an Arjen Robben cutback in the first half and was denied one-on-one by the feet of Roman Weidenfeller between the sticks for Borussia Dortmund.
The visitors got into gear in the second half and had their first clear cut opportunities in the 50th minute but Robert Lewandowski headed over 6 yards out when he connected unchallenged with a Lukas Piszczek cross.
Then Shinji Kagawa burst through on goal only to his chipped effort parried away by Manuel Neuer in the Munich goal. Götze put the rebound narrowly wide with the German number 1 stranded, but with defenders in front of goal.
Mario Götze’s goal came when he played a one-two with Shinji Kagawa, poking the ball into the corner as it bounced down. He was aided by Jerome Boateng losing the flight of the ball. Otherwise this game could have easily finished 0-0.
Sven Bender later had an effort wide and Lewandowski one ruled out for offside.
Bayern Munich pushed forward late on in search of an equaliser but the visitors defended effectively. Nils Petersen notably missing a great opportunity two minutes from time when he poked wide from inside the penalty area.
This result moves Borussia Dortmund back into second position and now only 2 points behind leaders Bayern Munich after 13 games.
Following a trip to Arsenal on Wednesday night in the Champions League, Borussia Dortmund host Schalke 04 next Saturday. Bayern Munich host Villarreal on Tuesday in Europe’s most prestigious trophy, before travelling to Mainz 05 on Sunday.
