Borussia Dortmund prevented Bayern Munich from going eight points clear in the Bundesliga on Saturday by fighting back for a 2-2 draw in “der Klassiker.”
Bayern were on course to start thinking of title celebrations as substitutes Serge Gnabry and Raphaël Guerreiro both scored within four minutes of each other to cancel out Maximilian Beier’s opener for Dortmund after the break.
But Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton equalised on a rebound in the 75th after Jonas Urbig saved Serhou Guirassy’s acrobatic effort.
Harry Kane missed a big chance for Bayern, though he wasn’t the only one as Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had a busy match.
“A game of missed opportunities,” said Thomas Müller after making a rare start for Bayern.
The 35-year-old Müller captained the side and was pushed onto the field by teammates before the match to receive fans’ applause after the club announced last week that his contract won’t be renewed at the end of the season.
The draw stopped Bayern from capitalising on defending champions Bayer Leverkusen’s 0-0 draw with Union Berlin earlier, as the Bavarian powerhouse stayed six points clear at the top with five rounds remaining.
“Until the first goal … we created chances and the game was more or less positive for us,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany told a news conference.
“After the first goal it became a cup game. I would buy a ticket to watch a game like this but as a coach you want a little bit more control.
“But we wanted to be six points ahead of Leverkusen at the end of the weekend and we have that.”
It’s just a little bump for Bayern, who next need to come from a goal behind at Inter Milan in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday. Munich is hosting the final in May.
Dortmund, who host Barcelona next week in their Champions League quarterfinal second leg after a 4-0 loss on Wednesday, are in eighth place on 42 points, six points off the top four.
“We have a tough game on Tuesday,” said Dortmund coach Niko Kovac. “We know the situation. We want to win that game.
“[In the Bundesliga] I hope to continue this run [with two wins and a draw from the last three matches],” he said. “We still have points to earn.”
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
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