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A Robert Lewandowski-hat-trick powered Bayern Munich to a convincing 4-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the 2020-21 Bundesliga.
The latest edition of the Der Klassiker did not disappoint, as it took just two minutes for the opening goal to be scored.
Thomas Delaney won possession just outside the Bayern Munich area and quickly played in Erling Haaland. The Norway international took two touches before releasing a shot from 20 yards beyond the dive of Manuel Neuer.
Dortmund doubled their lead just seven minutes later, as a devastating counter-attack saw Nico Schulz send a sumptous ball into the channel for Thorgan Hazard to run at. The Belgian subsequently pulled a left-footed cut-back into the area that Haaland tapped into an empty net for his 19th goal of the season.
This explosive start to the game continued, and both sides created good chances. But it was Dortmund who had the next best chance of the game when Thomas Meunier found himself in space inside the box.
The Belgium international, however, opted to send an under-hit pass into the path of Haaland when he would have been better suited going straight for goal.
Bayern Munich made Dortmund pay for this profligacy soon thereafter. The impressive Leroy Sane dribbled across Nico Schulz and left him sprawling on the floor before sending a precise pass into the path of Robert Lewandowski.
The Bayern Munich number nine did not need a second invitation and tapped into the net to half the deficit. Lewandowski got a second from the spot three minutes before half-time when he sent Marwin Hitz the wrong way from 12 yards out.
The referee had initially waved play on after Mahmoud Dahoud brought down Kingsley Coman in the area. Marko Fritz, however, reversed the decision after consulting the VAR.
The second half was a more tame affair and lacked the frequent goalmouth action seen in the opening 45 minutes.
However, when Erling Haaland collided with Jerome Boateng ten minutes into the second half, the Dortmund striker initially appeared to be able to continue but was eventually substituted on the hour mark.
Bayern Munich also had their own injury worries when Boateng overstretched to prevent Marco Reus from having a goal-scoring opportunity; the former Germany international had to hobble off the field, though.
Bayern Munich finally upped the ante in the final 15 minutes, with Dortmund hanging on for dear life. Attack after attack were launched into the visitors' box, but a resolute defense, coupled with some fine goalkeeping from Hitz, kept the hosts at bay.
Just when it looked like the sides would settle for a share of the spoils, Leon Goretzka was on hand to put Bayern Munich ahead for the first time in the game.
A ball into the box was not properly dealt with by the BVB defence, and the Germany international popped up on the edge of the area to send a low shot beyond Hitz in the 88th minute.
Bayern Munich confirmed the win 90 seconds later when Lewandowski finished a counterattack to complete his hat-trick. The victory was a well-deserved one by Bayern Munich.
On that note, here are five talking points from the game.
#5 Bayern Munich reclaim advantage in the title race
The unique circumstances of the current campaign have seen Bayern Munich put up a less-than-convincing defence of their Bundesliga title.
After posting some shock results in recent weeks, the Bavarians came into this gameweek holding a slender two-point advantage over RB Leipzig.
This advantage was wiped out with Leipzig's convincing 3-0 victory away to Freiburg, which saw them overtake Bayern Munich at the league summit.
After only ten minutes, Bayern Munich were two behind before displaying incredible character and resilience to take the win.
The win sees the defending champions regain their two-point advantage at the summit, and this is a lead they will hope to keep till the end of the season.
#4 Borussia Dortmund's explosive start catches Bayern Munich off-guard
In the build-up to this game, Dortmund manager Edin Terzic asked his players to give their all against Bayern Munich.
Staying true to their manager's diktats, Dortmund's high press and aggressive charge gave the visitors an early advantage in an explosive start to the game.
That was all the more impressive, considering Dortmund played a gruelling mid-week cup tie with Borussia Monchengladbach, while Bayern Munich had a full week's worth of rest.
Their bright start reaped dividends, and BVB raced into a two-goal lead in the opening 10 minutes. Bayern Munich, however, got their act together and seized the initiative to register a convincing victory.
#3 Bayern Munich's dominance of Borussia Dortmund at home continues
Borussia Dortmund are traditionally Bayern Munich's biggest rivals, but recent results would suggest otherwise.
The Bavarians have been rampant in the last decade, especially at home, against arguably the second-best team in Germany. Nor surprisingly, the Black and Yellows have won just one of their last nine league meetings against Bayern Munich, and they have fared especially poorly at the Allianz Arena.
This latest emphatic defeat means Bayern Munich have now scored four or more goals in each of their last five home league games against Dortmund.
In these games, Bayern Munich have outscored Dortmund 23-3, with the most lopsided win being a 6-0 thrashing recorded in March 2018.
#2 Bitter-sweet outing for Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland is the latest scoring sensation in global football, and the 20-year-old once again highlighted his immense potential with a brace against Bayern Munich.
That put his side firmly in the driving seat and meant that he has now scored 29 goals from as many games in all competitions for BvB this season.
Ultimately, it counted for little, though, as Bayern Munich's rampant end to the game saw them overturn the deficit in a convincing fashion. Even more worryingly for Dortmund was the sight of their star striker with ice wrapped around his ankle after he suffered an injury during the game.
Dortmund are simply not the same side without Haaland, evidenced by the fact that they won just one of the four league games the striker missed in December.
Haaland once again showed why he is one of the most highly-rated players of his generation with a well-taken brace. But it came at the cost of an injury that could potentially derail Dortmund's season.
#1 Hat-trick hero Robert Lewandowski firmly on the path to Bundesliga immortality
Whenever Bayern Munich play, it is almost guaranteed that Robert Lewandowski will find the back of the net, and the status quo was maintained when the Bavarians faced the Pole's former side.
Lewandowski's hat-trick helped Bayern Munich see off Dortmund. Incredibly, he has now scored 20 Bundesliga goals against the side he called home for four seasons in the past.
Having seen the man, whom many opine could replace Lewandowski at Bayern Munich eventually, start the game with a brace, Lewandowski responded with his own first-half brace. The Pole then completed his hat-trick in the final minute of the game.
Rather remarkably, the hat-trick means Lewandowski has now scored 37 goals in just 33 games in all competitions. Narrowing it down to the Bundesliga alone, the 32-year-old has returned 31 goals from just 23 league games.
These are scarcely believable numbers, which are usually only associated with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It also puts the Poland international firmly on the way to breaking Gerd Muller's all-time Bundesliga record for most goals in a single season.
The Bayern Munich icon scored 40 goals from 34 league games in the 1971-72 season. Robert Lewandowski has to score ten goals in his next ten matches to surpass this tally. And at this rate, it could surely a matter of time before he usurps Der Bomber.
