Black & Yellow moments in Munich

The first away match at the new Allianz Arena ended in a draw, although by that point − Matchday 34 of the 2005/06 season − there was nothing riding on the game for either team. Goals from Philipp Degen and Jan Koller turned a 3-1 deficit into a 3-3 draw. The Black & Yellows travelled to Munich again just a few weeks later, on Matchday 1 of the 2006/07 campaign, but their bright start was brought to an abrupt halt by Hasan Salihamdzic’s crunching tackle on Sebastian Kehl. The Bayern man “tore open his opponent’s knee with his studs”, according to Spiegel Online. For Kehl, it was virtually a season-ending injury and he did not make his comeback until the spring of 2007. Bayern went on to win the game 2-0.

Göz Atın

Only Brandt nets for BVB in 1-1 draw with FSV

“The unsatisfying end to an unsatisfactory first half of the season”

Two completely different halves

Three wins and a draw between 2011 and 2014

After three more defeats (5-0, 3-1 and 3-1), Matchday 24 of the 2010/11 season marked the start of a successful run of four league matches that saw BVB pick up three wins and a draw in Munich. On 26 February 2011, the youngest Dortmund team of all time at that point (average age 22.7 years) earned their club a first away win against Bayern in almost 20 years. The match, which ended 3-1 to the visitors, was a high-tempo and exciting encounter, with the Black & Yellows initially dominating and taking a ninth-minute lead through Lucas Barrios. Luiz Gustavo levelled on the 16-minute mark, only for Nuri Sahin to make it 2-1 two minutes later. The Dortmund rearguard – including second-choice shot-stopper Mitchell Langerak in goal – subsequently held firm, while Mario Götze posed a constant threat at the other end. The 18-year-old, who had just made his international debut, had a shot parried behind by Bayern custodian Kraft in the 59th minute and then set up Hummels’ header from the ensuing corner as BVB ran out 3-1 winners.

“An unbelievable performance off the ball”

Not only in 2010/11 but in the following season too, BVB won both of their Bundesliga meetings with Bayern Munich (as well as the 2012 DFB-Pokal final). However, ahead of their visit to Munich on Matchday 13, the Black & Yellows trailed the league leaders by five points and were underdogs. But in temperatures bordering on freezing, the Black & Yellows played to their own strengths brilliantly while stopping their opponents from making the most of theirs. Although Bayern made an extremely aggressive − though not unfair − start, BVB began to win the midfield battle and took control of proceedings. They posed a threat going forward too, with the decisive moment in a close match coming in the 65th minute. Mario Götze played a one-two with Shinji Kagawa inside the box and was simply too quick for Jerome Boateng, who could not prevent Götze from slotting home from close range. It was only the second goal Bayern had conceded on home soil all season. Borussia Dortmund would go on to defend their title and win the DFB-Pokal, claiming their first and only double. “The incredible way that my team performed without the ball was decisive,” explained Jürgen Klopp after the match, adding: “It was an open game, not the best attacking spectacle. We pounced at the right moment. We successfully managed to thwart everything else that sets Bayern apart and that’s how we got the victory.”

Having drawn 1-1 in the 2012/13 season (Toni Kroos opened the scoring in the 67th minute, only for Mario Götze to restore parity in the 74th minute of a match in which both teams largely cancelled each other out), Borussia Dortmund picked up their most recent away win − and their biggest since 1991 − in Munich on 12 April 2014. The more than 7,000 travelling BVB fans witnessed a tactically shrewd first-half performance from their side, whose clever positional play prevented Bayern from converting their possession into goals. The Black & Yellows, meanwhile, took a 20th-minute lead through Henrikh Mkhitaryan and extended their advantage in the second half thanks to goals from Marco Reus (49) and Jonas Hofmann (55). As the game edged towards stoppage time, the hosts had Rafinha sent off for a foul on Mkhitaryan (90). However, the result had little impact on the table. Even after losing, Bayern still held a healthy 17-point lead at the summit.

Shootout clean sheet

The picture was very different on 28 April 2015. Jürgen Klopp had already announced his departure but wanted to sign off with another open-top bus parade around the Borsigplatz. But with his team in a relegation battle in the Bundesliga, there was only one way that could happen: winning the DFB-Pokal. Having to face Bayern Munich away isn’t exactly the dream draw. The hosts had more chances (8-3) according to kicker, but the only statistic that counts in football is the score.

The introduction of Henkrih Mkhitaryan in the 70th minute brought more balance to a previously one-side affair and shortly afterwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalised for BVB, who had fallen behind to Lewandowski’s 29th minute opener. Mkhitaryan (80) and an unmarked Marco Reus (82) then spurned excellent opportunities. Manuel Neuer came to his team-mates’ rescue on several occasions to take the game into extra-time, in which Mitch Langerak twice made outstanding saves to deny Bastian Schweinsteiger. Then, in the penalty shootout, the unthinkable happened. Bayern couldn’t seem to stay on their feet, with Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso both losing their footing as they took their spot-kicks. Neuer and Götze (then at Bayern) both missed too, meaning Dortmund kept a clean sheet in the shootout as they emerged 2-0 victors (Gündogan and Kehl).

Manni Bender, football god!

The Black & Yellows booked their place in the 2017 DFB-Pokal final, where they beat Eintracht Frankfurt, by beating Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in the last four. Even though BVB took the lead through Marco Reus in the 19th minute, FC Bayern hit back with a vengeance and netted twice before the break through Martinez and Hummels to turn the game on its head and lead 2-1. But they spurned further chances to extend their advantage and BVB scored against the run of play in the 69th minute when Ousmane Dembélé delivered a delightful cross from unmarked position on the right of the penalty area towards the back post, where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was waiting to head home from close range (69). Barely five minutes later, Raphael Guerreiro and Marco Reus combined to tee up the young Frenchman, who hit a precise shot high into the net from a centre-right position (74).

But the real hero of the evening was Sven Bender! In the 63rd minute, just when Dortmund were beginning to free themselves from Bayern’s grip, Arjen Robben had a great chance to put his side 3-1 ahead and decide the game once and for all. But with the goal gaping, Bender managed to get an outstretched foot to the ball and turn it onto the post. It was an outstanding block and it kept his team in the match. “If the third goal had gone it, it would’ve been game over,” said captain Marcel Schmelzer. “That block was incredible.” And it paved the way for BVB to record their fifth and most recent win at the Allianz-Arena.
Boris Rupert