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Bayern Munich fought back from two goals down to beat arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund 4-2 at the Allianz Arena in the 2020-21 Bundesliga to secure yet another incredible victory in the Der Klassiker.
Robert Lewandowski bagged a hat-trick, while Leon Goretzka was also on target for the hosts; Erling Haaland scored an early double for Dortmund. The in-form Norwegian opened the scoring inside 80 seconds before bringing up his brace in just the ninth minute.
However, Bayern Munich, who have won each of their last six home games to Dortmund in the league, responded through Lewandowski, who struck twice towards the end of the first half.
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The match was seemingly heading for a draw till the reigning Bundesliga champions took the lead through Goretzka in the 88th minute. Lewandowski then applied the finishing touches by completing his hat-trick.
The victory helped Bayern Munich maintain their two-point lead at the top, while Dortmund's European hopes suffered another dent following a ninth defeat of the campaign.
On that note, here is a look at the five hits and flops from either team in the match:
Hit: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
This man just cannot stop scoring! Robert Lewandowski, against his former employers and favourite punching bags, scored yet another Klassiker hat-trick, helping the Bavarians turn around an early deficit and secure a convincing victory.
His first two goals were simple yet significant, a tap-in followed by a penalty to restore parity for the Bundesliga champions before half-time. Lewandowski then rounded off his second career hat-trick against BVB with a lovely finish in the 90th-minute to seal all three points for Bayern Munich.
No other team in the world has witnessed the Polish ace's scoring prowess quite like Dortmund, who've now conceded 22 goals to Lewandowski since seeing him leave on a free transfer in 2014.
Flop: Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Dortmund)
Borussia Dortmund were the orchestrators of their own downfall against Bayern Munich, and one of the main culprits for the same was Mahmoud Dahoud, who struggled defensively.
Starting for the third consecutive game, the German centre-back was facing his toughest outing. However, he failed to live up to the occasion, giving away the ball cheaply many times.
In fact, he also misplaced 15 passes on the night - more than anyone else. More importantly, Mahmoud conceded a silly penalty which allowed Bayern Munich to claw their way back into the game.
Dahoud, rather recklessly, stamped on a retreating Kingsley Coman just inside the area; Lewandowski cooly slotted the ensuing penalty to make it 2-2 for Bayern Munich.
Hit: Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski might have stolen the show, but he wasn't the only striker on form on the night. Erling Haaland of Borussia Dortmund has been in sublime form this season; he netted twice against Bayern Munich inside the opening nine minutes to give the visitors a shock 2-0 lead.
His first, coming inside 80 seconds of kick-off, was a scorching finish beyond Manuel Neuer before he scored his second by rounding off a wonderful counter-attacking move a few moments later.
Haaland's brace ensured he has now got on target in all three Der Klassiker fixtures this season, including twice in the league. That has made him the first Dortmund player to score home and away against Bayern Munich in the same campaign since William Barrios in 2010-11.
Unfortunately for Der BVB, though, the Norwegian fireball went off with a knock early on in the second half, robbing the visitors of their primary threat. Manager Edin Terzic will hope it's nothing serious.
Flop: Thomas Meunier (Borussia Dortmund)
During the frenetic opening exchanges when Borussia Dortmuned seemed to be in cruise control, Thomas Meunier had a good chance to triple their lead. But the Belgian made a mess of the chance, something he must've regretted at full-time.
After receiving an incisive pass from Dahoud, the former PSG full-back attempted to cut it back to an unmarked Haaland in the middle. But he underhit the pass so much so that David Alaba comfortably intercepted it, which meant a very promising move from Der BVB came to nothing.
Frankly, he should've gone for a goal there, but Meunier's decision-making was poor in that instance. If that wasn't enough, he also made a poor clearance in the second-half which allowed Goretzka to fire home Bayern Munich's third goal.
In another tense moment, Meunier came up short once again while trying to get the ball away from Lewandowski; he ended up passing it straight to a Bayern Munich midfielder, who instead made a meal of it, though.
Hit: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
There were a few more players besides Robert Lewandowski, who had a good game against Borussia Dortmund; one of them is Joshua Kimmich, who was crucial to turning the tide for his team after Bayern Munich fell two goals behind.
The talented midfielder orchestrated his side's tempo by moving the ball forward and getting Bayern Munich into good positions. In fact, he laid more passes in the Dortmund half than the visiting players themselves!
Moreover, Kimmich was involved in two goals - Lewandowski's first strike when he made an offload to assist Leroy Sane, and then for Goretzka's goal by forcing a mistake off Meunier.
Kimmich may not hog the limelight, unlike his more glamorous attacking counterparts. But he remains a vital cog in the Bayern Munich juggernaut, the man who keeps the Bavarian giants buzzing in midfield.
