Bayern Munich – Borussia Dortmund: Kompany’s Win Streak Unshaken Despite Dortmund’s Second Half Resurgence (2-1)

In the highlight fixture of the season, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund delivered yet another entertaining match. The Bavarians were dominant in the first half, but an adjustment at the midway point by Niko Kovac tilted the momentum. In the end, it was not enough to affect the result as Vincent Kompany’s win streak remained unshaken.

Tactical analysis and match report by Fahd Ahmed.

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The clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund has been the most anticipated tie in the Bundesliga for many years. Regardless of how the two teams may be performing prior to their meeting, a competition between the German giants often entertains, and that is why supporters tune in.

The game on Saturday night was especially intriguing because Bayern and Dortmund were unbeaten in all competitions. Albeit Vincent Kompany’s record was slightly more impressive as Dortmund drew two matches, they were the two most in-form teams in the Bundesliga.

Controlling possession with a player advantage

In the opening period, and more broadly in the first half, the home side dominated possession as they overloaded Dortmund’s frontline. With Joshua Kimmich dropping between or beside the center-backs, Bayern had a three-versus-two advantage against Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi.

Bayern’s three-versus-two advantage against Dortmund’s frontline press aided their intent for controlling territory.

Further, Dortmund’s wide midfielders, Felix Nmecha and Marcel Sabitzer, kept tabs on the Bayern fullbacks, who often advanced and offered supporting runs for the wingers. Thus, they were pinned back and could not support Guirassy and Adeyemi when they tried to press high. This led to early possession dominance for Bayern in their usual 2-4-4 shape, whilst Dortmund defended in a 5-3-2 structure.

One of the main themes of the first half – visitors defending from their structure whilst Bayern try to break them down with their usual on-ball shape and fluidity within it.

Nmecha as the solution with Kane as the counter solution

Kovac’s response to Bayern’s possession control in the first ten minutes was instructing Nmecha to press the left-sided player when he received the ball. This triggered Schlotterbeck to jump up to the vacated right-back – Sacha Boey. Therefore, Dortmund could essentially lock one half of the pitch and make it difficult for Bayern to progress and also generally hold onto the ball.

Nmecha soon began pressing the left-sided player to prevent Bayern from having comfortable possession.

However, Kompany already had a solution ready, and it has been something we have regularly seen from Bayern over the past weeks – Kane dropping into midfield to receive possession. This movement by the Englishman has proven to be effective and continued to be beneficial against Dortmund.

When the visitors transitioned their middle block to a high press through Nmecha’s trigger, Bayern would play the ball backward to entice the opposition. Against their buildup, Bayern would be marked man-to-man. However, Kane would move into midfield to provide the outlet as he generated an overload.

Dortmund found it hard to stop Bayern here as the center-backs were hesitant to travel that deep to mark Kane. With Nicolas Jackson in their vicinity and ready to exploit any vacant space if it were to open, Kane could receive the ball unmarked. If Sabitzer or Pascal Groß left their player and pressed Kane, it would leave Konrad Laimer or Aleksandar Pavlović free.

Kane (green) is unmarked since Waldemar Anton (blue) is hesitant to cover the large gap and track all the way.

Kane’s header opens the scoring

Despite all the tactical battles across the field in the opening period, it was a set-piece situation that opened the scoring. Yet again, it was Kane getting himself on the scoresheet with another delicate finish. Kane’s world-class quality has been on show since joining Bayern, and his status as one of the best strikers ever remains unshaken.

It might not have seemed possible after Kane’s impressive 2024/25 season, where he recorded 26 goals in 31 appearances and finished as the league’s top scorer, but his importance to the team has only grown. Firstly, in terms of goal output, he has not slowed down. In fact, Kane’s average goals per game had skyrocketed to 11 in 6 games prior to the Dortmund clash.

Secondly, with Jamal Musiala picking up an unfortunate and lengthy injury against Paris Saint-Germain over the summer, there was a massive creativity void that Bayern had to fill. They could not address it in the summer transfer window with a direct replacement. Instead, Kompany found an internal solution by starting to utilize Kane in deeper positions, as he has shown the capability to do so throughout his illustrious career.

He can do it all. pic.twitter.com/cU3uByECIw

— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) October 18, 2025

This tactic has yielded plenty of returns at the start of the season for Bayern, as Serge Gnabry and Jackson have done well to complement Kane. On a personal level, there is also an argument to be made that this level of freedom gets the best out of the Englishman, who has numerous qualities apart from his preciseness in front of goal.

Shifting the game’s momentum with a man-oriented press

The Bavarians were comfortably the better team in the first half, and although they only scored one goal, there were multiple valuable chances. Kovac realized that the current setup was not sustainable if they wanted to turn the match around. Hence, there were some changes at half-time.

The first of those alterations was personnel-wise, with Niklas Süle substituted out for Ramy Bensebaini. The second was tactical – a slight tweak in the out-of-possession approach.

As previously mentioned, Kane’s movement was causing trouble as the center-backs wanted to maintain a player surplus at the back. In the second half, that changed as Dortmund pressed Bayern man-to-man.

Dortmund pressed Bayern man-to-man in the second half.

This was an aggressive move as it generated one-versus-one duels across the pitch and made the tie more chaotic. However, Kovac needed to accept this as the new game state if he wanted Dortmund to at least steal a point from Bayern.

This slightly destabilized their opponents, leading to a tilt in the possession metrics. The shift in momentum might be the reason why Kompany brought on Leon Goretzka, a central midfielder, for Jackson, who was deployed as the striker. The rationale behind that decision could have been to better equip Bayern with more physicality in midfield as the intensity was picking up.

Drama in the closing stages

Despite the positivity from Dortmund, the next significant damage was done by Bayern, who netted a second. The sequence originated from a turnover in their half, which Kane picked up. He immediately looked up for the switch, as Luis Díaz was high and wide on the opposite flank.

Unsurprisingly, Kane’s ball fell accurately in Díaz’s path, who went on the outside to deliver a low-drilled pass across the six-yard area. Olise sprinted all the way upfield to tap it in after the substitute, Jobe Bellingham, intercepted it but could not clear the ball. A scrappy but clever goal from the Frenchman.

Kane was yet again involved in the goal as his sweeping switch to Díaz led to the cross from which Olise scored.

The Dortmund players were understandably frustrated but did not give up hope. Just minutes after Olise scored, Julian Brandt reduced the deficit to one after a cleverly worked set-piece routine, which led to a cross from Groß to Brandt, who just had to guide it into the net.

This set up an enjoyable final few minutes to the match as the visitors were eager to score a last-minute equalizer. They entered the attacking third and delivered multiple crosses but could not produce a clear-cut chance. Instead, Bayern created a quality opportunity for Díaz, but he did not convert.

Takeaways

Bayern’s red-hot form continues in a very impressive and dominant start to the season. On Saturday night, they yet again showcased why they have been lauded by many as the best team in Europe. Kompany would obviously be delighted with how everything has turned out so far.

As games come thick and fast with the winter period approaching, Kompany’s priority will be ensuring that his team does not pick up any significant injuries. One of the few weaknesses of the Bayern squad is how thin they are. The lack of depth means that Bayern cannot rotate heavily and do so often. Moreover, considering their intense on and off-ball playstyle, it is physically demanding. Maintaining that level consistently whilst not overexerting will be a tough balance for Kompany to find.

Despite the result, Kovac would not be too distraught, as they gave the reigning champions a tough test in the second half, with both sides performing roughly at similar levels. That also marked only their first defeat of the season. The road has been brighter for Dortmund since Kovac’s arrival, and the supporters will hope that it continues.

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