BEVERLY HILLS, March 07, (THEWILL) – Different European leagues classify the meeting of their biggest pair of teams with catchy monikers. The most popular is La Liga’s “El Clasico” for the global attraction that is the tie between Real Madrid and Barcelona. No other rivalry matches the frenzy of this most definitive of derbies of two of the most powerful sides in modern football.
Yet, there are others that are quite as tough. Italy boasts of its “Derby della Madonnina” signifying the unending rivalry between city rivals AC Milan and Inter Milan in the Serie A. It closely resembles the “Manchester Derby” as it also represents the contention of rival teams from the same city: Manchester United and Manchester City. It is the same with the “El Derbi Madrileno”, for the Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid bout.
There is the Ligue 1 “La Classique” between giants Paris Saint-Germain and annual challengers Marseille, the “Derby d’Italia” that pits Inter against perennial enemies for the Italian Scudetto, Juventus. Others include the “Old Firm Derby” between Scotland’s biggest domestic sides Celtic and Rangers, the “North London Derby” for supremacy between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
And, just like it happened on Saturday, there is the German variant in the Bundesliga: “Der Klassiker”, between the two worthy foes of Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
And, as it so happens in mammoth matches between these two top sides of Der Klassiker, it was nothing short of the spectacular especially with the pair of leading strikers, Erling Haaland of Dortmund and Robert Lewandowski of Bayern, firing on all cylinders.
The young Haaland was up by two goals in the tie before the game was 10 minutes old. The brace took his tally against Bayern this season to four in all competitions. This is a record for an opposition player across a single campaign only surpassed by the legend of Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored five in the 2016/2017 UEFA Champions League season.
It was left to his opposite number, currently the best striker in the world, Lewandowski to provide a Bayern response to the talent of Haaland. And Lewandowski replied with one extra to spare. The Pole scored a hattrick that took him to 20 Bundesliga goals against Dortmund in only 14 matches. That tally claimed another record for Lewandowski as he leapfrogged Klaus Allofs’ 18 goals to own the all-time league record against Dortmund.
Lewandowski’s triple-treat adds up to make it 31 goals in 28 games this season and helped to propel Bayern back to the top of the table while consigning Dortmund to sixth place. For that, the Yellow Submarine have their technical bench to blame. They had the chance to beat Bayern with two goals ahead within 10 minutes, only to choke and come unbundled in defense having fallen back too early and isolating Haaland in attack.
It was exactly the sort of circumstances that Lewandowski thrived in. The man for the big occasion showed his goal-poaching instincts with every goal he scored and he could have netted more if he took advantage of every chance created.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Haaland had to be substituted on the hour mark, for a cut to his ankle, which effectively ended Dortmund’s goal threats and hopes for victory. Bayern also lost defender Jerome Boateng.
The complete nature of Bayern Munich’s impressive state at the moment can only be translated by the stats that point out that the Bavarian giants have scored in each of their last 58 competitive matches as they approach their own club record of scoring in 61 games set in the 2013/2014 season.
Lewandowski kept up the pace of blowing records away as his hattrick extends his record, taking his tally to 31 goals after 24 matchdays in the Bundesliga. The old record was 26 goals set by Gerd Muller way back in the 1971/1972 season.
Haaland’s game may have had another goal before full time but he was substituted as a precautionary measure. The golden boy has scored 29 goals in his 28 competitive matches this season, adding seven assists. His phenomenal season has seen him score 32 goals in his first 34 Bundesliga matches, with only Uwe Seeler having made a better start across the same number of games (33 goals).
But, on the night, the bragging rights of Der Klassiker belonged to the men from the Allianz Arena. And to Lewandowski who rose up to the challenge posed by a gifted Haaland.
About the Author
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.
