Jamal Musiala hits back for Bayern Munich to break Dortmund hearts | Bundesliga

It can’t be long before English audiences learn Jamie Gitten’s name. He has operated on the periphery of consciousness at home, but this was a way to illuminate one of Europe’s spectacular occasions. Gittens is only 20 and coming into his own four years after arriving at Borussia Dortmund. His electrifying solo goal before the half hour looked set to settle a high-octane encounter until Jamal Musiala glanced an equalizer five minutes from time to maintain Bayern Munich’s unbeaten record.

Musiala maintained a 10-point gap between the bitter rivals and more generally dampened the sense of an imminent Bundesliga title run. The disappointment for Bayern lay in an injury in the first half to Harry Kane, who will also raise the antennae in England. Gittens, whose senior debut can’t be far off, could at least please any watching broadcast.

No one in Dortmund’s heartland seemed concerned about any disparity at first. The hosts said they could have sold 400,000 tickets for this match: a modern classic in name and nature, whose prestige can comfortably outlast the vicissitudes of both protagonists. Almost 25,000 of them packed into a raucous yellow wall almost an hour before kick-off, a reminder on a day when Fifa’s effective thrashing of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup bid fueled despair over the direction of football, that its soul will not be so easily wrested away.

The question for Dortmund, their extensive injury list led by creative force Julian Brandt, was whether they could bend Bayern out of form. Vincent Kompany’s men had not conceded in seven games and won them all, and Bayern had not lost here since November 2018. For Dortmund’s young coach Nuri Sahin, the hope was that these encounters can defy known laws.

There was a familiar feeling when Leroy Sané, cutting inside to let rip, forced Gregor Kobel to parry in the seventh minute. Bavaria had an early monopoly of possession and invention; Dortmund’s main draw was in the form of Gittens, who twice forced Manuel Neuer into scrappy clearances. It was Pascal Gross, in for Brandt, who found a more threatening position before cutting back behind a frustrated Marcel Sabitzer.

But Dortmund forced errors and found space out wide; they had won all eight of this season’s home games and looked set for a ninth when Gittens scored. What a moment it was for the young man, who has been productive in the Champions League and is hitting his stride at home. A display of full-throttle forwards began with a spin five yards into his own half that left Konrad Laimer dead. There was no one to catch Gittens from there, but the goal would lie still when he reached the box. It was also impeccable, a left-footed shot flashing high beyond Neuer as the angle tightened. The whole sequence had taken eight exciting seconds.

Kane’s goal-scoring performances for Bayern have not depended on such spurts, but five minutes later he was denied any chance to respond. In reality he had barely been involved, but it was a huge blow when he went down and after treatment was replaced by Thomas Müller. Before the break, Dortmund centre-forward Serhou Guirassy blew over a half chance to compound the pain.

Bayern, crushed by Dortmund’s zeal, surely could not be so stable again. Four minutes into the second half had passed when Musiala, hitherto quiet, wriggled his way into the box and found Müller for what appeared to be a sure thing. However, Kobel stood monumentally to make a goal-saving block. Almost immediately, smart action by Laimer denied Gittens a second at the other end.

A silky turn and pass from Felix Nmecha, like Gittens a Manchester City candidate, was greeted enthusiastically. Now this was the rattling end-to-end affair that had been advertised, Musiala shooting just wide before Sané raced clear but missed the far post. Sabitzer, with another chance on the counter for Dortmund, shot at the legs of the advancing Neuer, but the question now was whether they could hold on.

As the pressure mounted, it became clear that they were going to fight. Finally Michael Olise, a substitute, crossed carefully from the right and an unmarked Musiala nodded in. He ran off patting himself on the head in wonder, but it was no surprise that Bayern seized again.