Jamal Musiala ran away patting his head in amazement, but even if the nodding equalizers were hardly his contribution, there was little to be surprised about. Bayern Munich knocked on the door throughout the first half against opponents who never looked certain and ended up doing as they have done all season, preventing defeat and fending off any breathless predictions of a resumption of the Bundesliga title race. Of course, it was Musiala, who had already won them two games in November, rising above average on Germany’s highest stage.
The story of how Musiala was lost to England has now been well told. So the real story here was about someone who could shine in his place; a player whose first senior call-up is surely only a matter of time. Jamie Gittens lit up this match, a classic of the modern era in name and character, scoring a sensational goal just before the half-hour mark and tormenting Bayern all night from his place on the left. If he lies on the fringes of public consciousness at home, perhaps now is the time to remember his name. Although trailing Dortmund could not complain about being tied down, their 20-year-old winger deserved to be on the winning side.
Gittens has taken time to build momentum since joining from Manchester City’s academy four years ago, but he is making great progress. His eighth goal of the season and third in three games was a sublime piece of high-octane forward play. Dortmund had been building patiently at the back when, fed in a seemingly narrow position eight yards into their own half and on to the touchline, he spun and left Konrad Leimer for dead.
There was clearly no way to catch him when the field opened up and the only question when he entered the box was whether he had the composure to handle the warp speed. As the corner tightened, he responded with a shot that flew high beyond Manuel Neuer; the entire thrilling sequence lasted just eight seconds and felt, both to locals and those with concerns overseas, like the arrival of the latest English talent to shine here.
Perhaps Gittens will thrive running in the spaces created by Harry Kane. But if he could soon be England’s gain, there was pain in the forward’s departure five minutes after the opener. Kane was barely involved during a strangely torrid first half from Bayern and was withdrawn after brief treatment on what appeared to be an upper leg injury. He was seen walking freely onto the team bus afterwards, but the antennae of any watching FA emissaries will have been up. “He said it wasn’t too bad, we hope so,” Vincent Kompany said.
A quick guide Leverkusen have advantage to win, Wolfsburg beat Leipzig
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Champions Bayer Leverkusen needed a second-half goal from in-form striker Patrick Schick to win 2-1 at Union Berlin and move up to third.
The Czech, who scored a hat-trick in last week’s 5-2 win over Heidenheim and then scored in the 5-0 Champions League win over RB Salzburg, chested the ball over the line in the 71st minute for his side’s second win in the last five league games. Leverkusen, who face Bayern Munich next week hoping to retain the German Cup, have 23 points, six behind leaders Bayern, who visit Borussia Dortmund later on Saturday.
They are now third after that RB Leipzig fell to a 5-1 home defeat by Wolfsburga third loss in four games that has burdened coach Marco Rose to drop to fourth on 21.
“I’m not doing anything special,” Schick told reporters. “I’m trying to keep working hard. I’m in good shape at the moment, better than at the start of the season. “Maybe I’m getting more passes, maybe more chances, but it’s working really well at the moment.
Kompany might have thought he had almost passed his greatest score The Bundesliga test so far. Dortmund started the day 10 points behind Bayern and remain too far away to be a real positional rival. But getting out unscathed, amid the usual frenzied atmosphere of a game for which the hosts could sell 400,000 tickets, was a hurdle to overcome. “No successful team can go through a season without moments like this,” he said.
For Dortmund and Nuri Sahin, two-and-a-half years Kompany’s junior at 36, a transitional year was always going to come with heavy blows. They overcame a long injury list to overtake Bayern before the break, made plenty of mistakes and saw Felix Nmecha, another City graduate, shine at the heart of midfield. Counter-attacks were a threat and if Marcel Sabitzer had scored after an hour instead of shooting at the feet of Manuel Neuer, they might not have been in sight.
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But Bayern, reeling from Kane’s departure, should have been level long before an unmarked Musiala glanced a deliberate cross from substitute Michael Olise. If Gregor Kobel hadn’t saved brilliantly from Thomas Müller, or if Leroy Sane had hit the target with a through ball, they might have had time to win it. Instead, the memories could linger with the sight of Dortmund’s yellow wall, a reassuringly special sight in a tumultuous and anxious sport pulsating to the brilliance of Gittens.
“Hopefully in the next camp he’ll be picked, if he keeps it up he’s got such a big future ahead of him,” said Nmecha when asked about his England team-mate’s prospects. The secret may already be out.
