Passion, drama, goals!

The most prestigious match in German football has kept all its promises.

But the Bavarians, on their individual qualities, made the difference by exploiting perfectly the few errors of Borussia, in particular the unfortunate Mats Hummels, involved in the three opposing goals.

In the scoring war, the "old" Robert Lewandowski, 33, again got the better of his young rival Erling Haaland, who only scored once, although he gave a lot of lead to twist to the 100% French central defense, Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano.

The post-match was marked by a lively debate on refereeing, the game director having "forgotten" in the first period a fault by Hernandez on Marco Reus in the area which could have been worth a penalty for Dortmund.

He also whistled a disputed hand from Hummels in the box, which gave Munich the winning goal (3-2, 77th).

Bayern Munich's Polish striker Robert Lewandowski scores the third goal on a penalty kick on Dortmund's pitch on Matchday 14 of the Bundesliga, December 4, 2021 Ina Fassbender AFP

Dortmund coach Marco Rose was sent off late in the game for expressing his grievances in a bit too harsh terms.

"A crazy match"

"It was a crazy game," admitted Borussia captain Marco Reus, "we always felt we could win it, and it's doubly frustrating to have lost him like that."

The French striker of Bayern Munich, Kingsley Coman, congratulated by his teammate Thomas Muller, after his goal scored against Dortmund and his captain Marco Reus, during the 14th day of the Bundesliga, December 4, 2021 in Dortmund Ina Fassbender AFP

The Bavarians themselves, including coach Julian Nagelsmann, conceded that Hernandez's foul could have deserved a penalty.

"It's a shame that this is what makes the difference in these decisive matches, I can understand their frustration," even admitted Thomas Müller.

Dortmund entered the match on time, and opened the scoring with international Julian Brandt in the 5th minute, with a superb shot from ten yards (1-0).

The mood was set, and the 15,000 spectators admitted into the stadium (due to anti-Covid restrictions) made (almost) forget the "Yellow Wall" and its 24,000 fanatics standing.

But in prestigious matches, the "Rekordmeister" never puts his knee to the ground for long.

In the 9th minute, Thomas Müller countered in the center circle a raise from Hummels, in the position of last defender.

He launched in depth Robert Lewandowski, who was quick to score his ... 22nd league goal against Dortmund, in 15 matches!

The Polish striker of Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski, congratulated by his French teammate Kingsley Coman, after having equalized (1-1) on the field of Dortmund, during the 14th day of the Bundesliga, December 4, 2021 Ina Fassbender AFP

Combat

Equality on the scoreboard, and equality in envy.

The two teams surrendered blow for blow.

Dangerous actions have followed relentlessly on both sides.

On a new attack from Bayern, Raphaël Guerreiro in the box badly cleared a ball, which bounced off Hummels before landing in the feet of Kingsley Coman.

The French international placed a tense shot just under the bar (2-1, 44 ').

French Bayern Munich striker Kingsley Coman (l) scores the second goal on Dortmund's field during the 14th Bundesliga matchday, December 4, 2021 Ina Fassbender AFP

But Lewandowski had scored, and Haaland couldn't stay silent.

Returning from the locker room, the 21-year-old Norwegian placed in the skylight, out of reach of Manuel Neuer, a marvel of the ball wound with his right foot at the far post which made Signal Iduna Park roar with pleasure (2-2, 48th) .

Haaland's 51st goal in 51 Bundesliga appearances.

The joy of the Norwegian striker from Dortmund, Erling Braut Haaland, after having equalized (2-2) at home against Bayern Munich, during the 14th day of the Bundesliga, December 4, 2021 Ina Fassbender AFP

After the break, Dortmund created the most chances.

"In the second half, I'm not sure we deserved the victory in terms of play, but in the fight we were there," said Thomas Müller.

Borussia has not beaten the "Rekordmeister" since November 2018. And Munich has once again taken a psychological boost that can pave the way to a 10th consecutive German league title.

© 2021 AFP