Borussia Dortmund ended Bayern Munich's 14-match winning streak in the Bundesliga on Saturday as the warm-up for the Champions League final ended in a 1-1 draw. For the first time since December, Bayern, who finished the match with 10 men, dropped league points, but both sides fielded just a handful of first-choice players set to start the Wembley final on May 25 - six from Dortmund and four from Bayern.
Although Bayern beat 1-0 Borussia in the German Cup quarter-finals in February, the Bavarians have failed to beat their rivals in six Bundesliga attempts - their last league win was back in February 2010. Bayern had already been crowned Bundesliga champions four weeks ago and with Dortmund all but guaranteed second place, there was nothing more than bragging rights to play for at Signal Iduna Park.
An early goal by Dortmund wing Kevin Grosskreutz was cancelled out when Mario Gomez was left unmarked at the far post on 23 minutes and the Germany star headed Munich level. The game burst into life after the break as Dortmund were awarded a penalty when Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng blocked a shot with his hand, but Manuel Neuer saved Robert Lewandowski's spot-kick.
Bayern were reduced to 10 men for the final 25 minutes when right-back Rafinha was sent off. During his tussle down the right with Dortmund midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski, the Brazilian thrust his elbow up into the Poland captain's face for a straight red. Blaszczykowski was also shown a yellow for remonstrating with the referee, while a heated discussion flared up on the sidelines between Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer and Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp. Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen sealed automatic qualification for the Champions League with a 2-0 win at Nuremberg. A first-half goal from defender Omer Toprak and a second-half penalty by Germany striker Stefan Kiessling sealed victory, while winger Sidney Sam fired a late penalty attempt wide for the visitors.
Comments
Comments are closed.