Bayern’s ‘Klassiker,’ Soler and a Norwegian fairytale
Bayern Munich emerged victorious in the 'Klassiker, Real Madrid were sunk by a hat trick of penalties, Lionel Messi looked more like his old self and a fairytale league title is about to be won in the Arctic Circle.
Bayern Munich once again got the better of Borussia Dortmund, beating their rivals 3-2 away in a thrilling “Klassiker” with goals from David Alaba, Robert Lewandowski — his 11th of the Bundesliga season — and Leroy Sane. Erling Braut Haaland's late goal for Dortmund proved to be a mere consolation, and Bayern are two points clear of RB Leipzig at the top of the table, and three ahead of Dortmund.
Bayern have now won 11 of their last 15 Bundesliga meetings with Dortmund since winning their 2013 Champions League final showdown. Hansi Flick's team have also now won 33 of their last 34 matches but this latest victory was marred by the knee injury suffered by Joshua Kimmich.
The brilliant midfielder hurt himself trying to challenge
Haaland and had surgery on Sunday. He will be out until January and will be greatly missed. Real Madrid looked to be back on track after recent results, but Zinedine Zidane's side capitulated in stunning fashion at Valencia, conceding three penalties and a Raphael Varane own goal in a 4-1 defeat against a struggling side.
It is Real's worst La Liga loss since a 5-1 hammering by Barcelona in October 2018 which cost Julen Lopetegui his job as coach. Not that Zidane is likely to suffer the same fate, but the result equalled his worst margin of defeat as coach. According to renowned Spanish sports statistician Mister Chip, Carlos Soler is just the third player to score a hat-trick of penalties in the same La Liga game, after Alen Peternac and a certain Alfredo di Stefano.
Madrid, with a game in hand, are fourth in La Liga, four points behind leaders Real Sociedad, who have won five straight games after defeating Granada 2-0.
Lionel Messi's form at the start of the season had scarcely been better than the results of his ailing team, and on Saturday the Argentine was rested at kickoff against Betis. But he came on for the second half with the score 1-1 and helped Barcelona run away with the game.
A brilliant leave allowed Antoine Griezmann to make it 2-1, and his fifth penalty of the season made it 3-1. The Argentine's first goal from open play in this campaign was Barca's fourth, and they wound up winning 5-2 to give coach Ronald Koeman some breathing space.