Mueez Ajao
– Robert Lewandowski scored twice as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker to move four points clear of their hosts in the Bundesliga.
– The prolific Poland forward scored the winner from the spot after Mats Hummels was ruled to have handled in the box.
– Julian Brandt had opened the scoring in the fifth minute only for Lewandowski to hit back almost immediately.
Also Read: BREAKING: Lewandowski wins Ballon d’Or Striker of the Year
– Kingsley Coman’s deflected effort then found the roof of the net but Erling Braut Haaland levelled after the break.
– Lewandowski’s winning goal was his 66th in 55 games in 2021 and his 118th away from home in the Bundesliga, the most in the competition’s history.
– Dortmund boss Marco Rose was booked earlier in the game when he felt his side should have had a penalty and was sent off for a second caution for his protests after Bayern were awarded the spot-kick.
– The hosts had stormed into an early lead at an electric Signal Iduna Park when Brandt took Jude Bellingham’s pass down superbly, turned inside Alphonso Davies and finished smartly.
– But that lead only lasted four minutes as Lewandowski finished off a Bayern break and Coman fired in before half-time.
– Haaland curled into the corner to level from Bellingham’s lay off three minutes after the interval – the Englishman’s fifth assist in the Bundesliga this season.
– But it was Lewandowski who stole the show with the winner in the 77th minute, despite Gregor Kobel getting a hand to the 33-year-old’s spot kick.
– Bayern could have had another when Corentin Tolisso broke deep into added time from a Dortmund corner that Kobel had gone up for, but fired wide of an open goal from distance.
– There was also concern for Dortmund when Brandt was carried off on a stretcher after suffering a head injury during a collision with Dayot Upamecano. The Dortmund midfielder, though, was conscious as he left the field.
