Bayern Munich 6-0 Borussia Dortmund: Robert Lewandowski scores hat-trick as his former side capitulate

Bayern Munich need just one more win to confirm their sixth-successive Bundesliga title as they inflicted a humiliating 6-0 defeat on Borussia Dortmund.

Their guests played as bad as physically imaginable as Bayern led 5-0 at half-time. Robert Lewandowski scored twice with goals too for James Rodríguez, Thomas Müller and Franck Ribéry, with the Frenchman also having a goal disallowed.

Dortmund went into damage limitation mode but offered very little threat in the second half, with Lewandowski completing a hat-trick just before the end.

Bayern get off to a flying start

Bayern could have won the title here, however Schalke 04’s win over SC Freiburg earlier in the day meant they still needed five points to confirm themselves as Bundesliga champions yet again. They made six changes from the defeat at RB Leipzig as they reverted to almost their strongest possible side, although Joshua Kimmich was on the bench. Dortmund’s only change from the 1-0 victory against Hannover 96 saw the injured Ömer Toprak replaced by Sokratis. Marco Reus was, once more, out injured as well.

After an early Müller shot wide, Dortmund looked to start more positively then they had in their DFB-Pokal defeat here in December. Jérôme Boateng blocked off a Michy Batshuayi header before the following corner was put over by Mario Götze. Soon after that though, and one of their former players put Bayern ahead. Müller played it through to Lewandowski, who despite looking offside was able to score. VAR was not consulted, and they led 1-0.

They thought they had made it two soon after. Müller had the beating of Mahmoud Dahoud on the right, crossing the ball into the box. Initially it seemed that Rodríguez had been unable to connect, with Ribéry able to put the ball in the back of the net. Referee Bastian Dankert disallowed the goal though, probably with the help of VAR, for reasons that weren’t immediately apparent. It was adjudged though that Rodríguez had made the slightest of contact with the ball, with Ribéry just offside when he did so.

Having been handed that reprieve, Dortmund tried to get back into the game but the best they could muster was an André Schürrle bicycle kick wide. Bayern then pounced again. Manuel Akanji cleared a James Rodríguez dink but the ball soon found its way to David Alaba on the left. He crossed in and Rodríguez put it in off the hands of Roman Bürki. There was no question of its validity this time.

Poor start turns into a nightmare for Dortmund

It would soon get worse for Dortmund, once a Dahoud effort had gone over. Gonzalo Castro was guilty of given the ball away, Lewandowski moved the ball forward, with Rodríguez then crossing in for Müller, who had an easy tap in. Castro was soon put out of his misery, with Julian Weigl coming on, although he would have his horror moment soon enough.

In the meantime, Bayern were just playing with Dortmund for fun. Lewandowski could have had a fourth when he got past Marcel Schmelzer, with Akanji dispossessing him in the box, although he didn’t seem to get much of the ball. Arjen Robben was later given the chance to pull his party trick of cutting inside, but his shot was wide.

They would then make their way into dreamland. Batshuayi, through no fault of his own a complete passenger in this match, conceded possession to Mats Hummels, with Rodríguez supplying Ribéry, who did brilliantly to beat Lukasz Piszczek before trying to cross inside. Bürki blocked, but the ball came back off Ribéry, Dortmund couldn’t clear, and Lewandowski got the slightest of touches on the ball, despite the presence of Dahoud, to claim number four.

If 4-0 was torturous enough for Dortmund, they would go into the break 5-0 down. Weigl gave the ball away to Ribéry, which in his form was a big mistake. He exchanged passes with Rodríguez, and he chipped the ball past Bürki for a deserved goal of his own.

After the lord’s mayor show before Lewandowski encore

The game was in all likelihood already over. Dortmund showed no signs after half-time of pulling off a minor miracle, whilst Bayern, with half a mind on UEFA Champions League duty in midweek, were not willing to go above and beyond to inflict any further humiliation on the side still nominally their biggest rivals in the Bundesliga.

Of course chances still came their way. Rafinha struck the ball over the bar, before Sokratis did well to block an effort from Rodríguez, his last contribution before making way for Thiago. Dortmund then showed some sign of life, with Götze hitting the post at the other end.

As the half wore on, Hummels managed to shoulder, rather than head, a corner over, whilst an opportunity for Lewandowski, looking for his hat-trick, was denied by Bürki. Dortmund’s attempts to earn some dignity from the game were coming to very little, with Piszczek coming up from right-back to at least force Sven Ulreich into a save.

There was still time though for Lewandowski to inflict more misery on his old side. Kimmich, who had come on at half-time, crossed the ball from the right, with Bürki unable to stop it despite his efforts to do so. With the goalkeeper out of the equation, Lewandowski was unmarked and had an open net in which to score.

With or without that sixth goal though, it was a truly earth-shattering defeat for Dortmund, the sort of scoreline a team like Hamburger SV and Werder Bremen might expect to be on the wrong side of. Peter Stöger’s hopes of being Dortmund coach after the end of the season are surely now over, whilst there are players who could see the exit on the back of this as well. They have a lot of work to do in the summer to avoid the fate of the aforementioned clubs. Bayern though will seal another German title next weekend though with victory at FC Augsburg.