Match Awards from Bayern Munich’s thrilling 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund delivered a Der Klassiker for the ages. Both sides gained and lost the lead before Bayern emerged with a 3-2 victory. Harry Kane scored a brace, Joshua Kimmich showed up in the big moment, and Bayern will head home with a massive 11-point lead over Dortmund in the Bundesliga race.

Despite only one yellow card being shown, it was a very physical contest. Bayern dominated in possession but Dortmund took advantage on a pair of well-placed crosses with quality finishes.

Jersey Swap: Nico Schlotterbeck

Schlotterbeck had quite the polarizing performance. He magically avoided a red card for a reckless “cleats up” challenge where he rolled over the ball and nearly snapped Josip Stanišić’s leg. It is truly a mystery that referee Sven Jablonski did not even go to the monitor to review the challenge for a red card.

Six minutes later, Schlotterbeck stepped in front of Jonathan Tah and gave the home side the lead with a deflecting header past the outstretched arm of Jonas Urbig. Schlotterbeck’s flex to the crowd elevated Dortmund for the ensuing 30 minutes. Unfortunately for him, Schlotterbeck turned into a scapegoat in the second half with his mental mistake in fouling Stanišić (again) to concede a penalty kick.

Der Kaiser: Dayot Upamecano

For the first time since November, Bayern conceded multiple goals in consecutive matches. Both outside backs struggled to find chemistry with the wingers and Tah conceded a rare mental mistake on Schlotterbeck’s goal. Upamecano is probably to blame for Daniel Svensson’s goal, but Upamecano more than made up for it with seven recoveries, four interceptions, four clearances, and won a whooping 10 duels.

Since signing his contract extension, Upamecano’s form continues to improve. Despite the rotating door at outside-back due to a frustrating stream of injuries, the Frenchman has been a rock.

Fußballgott: Aleksandar Pavlović

It is rare for a 21-year old midfielder to be known for his consistent performances, but Pavlović continues to shine. On top of his typical 94% passing accuracy, he thwarted a number of Dortmund attacks. He is quickly cementing himself as the number six that Bayern needs, allowing Joshua Kimmich to move into more forward positions to boost the attack.

On a night where the English forward only had 35 touches, Kane certainly made them count. In the 54th minute, he cleverly stayed in an offside position until Joshua Kimmich played Serge Gnabry behind the Dortmund defense. Gnabry calmly headed the ball to Kane for Kane’s game-changing goal. 16 minutes later, Kane completed the brace on a penalty conversion that was almost saved by Gregor Kobel.

Meister of the Match: Joshua Kimmich

Kimmich has not been himself in 2026, battling through an ankle injury but refusing to sit out to fully recover. Kimmich left it all on the pitch in the rivalry match. From setting up Serge Gnabry for Bayern’s first goal to that clutch left-footed volley in the 87th minute, Kimmich wore the captain’s armband with pride and proved why Vincent Kompany trusts him.

I cannot remember the last time I saw Kimmich smiling after a match. The sense of relief clearly overwhelmed him as Bayern battled through multiple stretches of adversity to defeat their bitter rivals.

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…

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