February 28, (THEWILL) — Joshua Kimmich struck a stunning late volley to hand Bayern Munich a 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker on Saturday, moving Vincent Kompany’s side 11 points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga table.
Dortmund took the lead in the 26th minute when Nico Schlotterbeck glanced Daniel Svensson’s free-kick into the net. The Dortmund defender had been fortunate to remain on the pitch, having earlier escaped a red card following a VAR review for a reckless challenge on Josip Stanisic. Harry Kane restored parity nine minutes after the interval, finishing into the bottom corner after Serge Gnabry’s header set him clear.
Kane then stepped up to convert a penalty 20 minutes from time after Schlotterbeck brought down Stanisic in the box, with Gregor Kobel unable to keep the spot-kick out. Dortmund drew level once more in the 83rd minute when Svensson met Marcel Sabitzer’s inch-perfect cross with a thunderous volley, threatening to deny Bayern the three points they had worked so hard to earn.
The visitors, however, were not to be denied. Just four minutes after being pegged back, Kimmich rifled Jobe Bellingham’s clearance into the net from distance to restore Bayern’s lead with three minutes remaining. Bayern held firm through five minutes of additional time to complete a victory of enormous consequence in the title race.
The result all but extinguishes Dortmund’s hopes of mounting a serious challenge for the Bundesliga crown. Michael Olise had posed a threat for Bayern earlier in the match with a curling effort that Kobel was forced to tip away, and the overall performance underlined the considerable gulf that now separates the two clubs at the top of the table.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
