Bayern move closer to securing their 29th Bundesliga

In the biggest footballing rivalry during the Covid-19 pandemic, Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 1-0 to strengthen their stay at the top of Bundesliga on Tuesday. 

A first-half goal in the 43rd minute from German international Joshua Kimmich gave Bayern the lead which they held onto for the rest of the match in the Signal Iduna Park. 

Although there was no crowd to witness the action, in the usually packed stadium, simulated crowd noise was present to try its best to make up for the lack of crowd support but could not spur on the hosts to victory. 

The win ensured that the Bavarians stay seven points clear of the second-placed Dortmund with just six matches to go.

The game started with both Bayern and Dortmund going toe to toe. Bayern could've gone 1-0 up in the very first minute of the match when youngster Erling Haaland's attempt was blocked by Jerome Boateng.

With an iron-shield defense of Dortmund, who conceded just a single goal in the last six league games, Bayern needed something out-of-the-box to breach their defense, which they literally did. 

Seeing Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Bürki out of his line, Joshua Kimmich hammered a fabulous strike out of the box from 20 yards which Bürki was unable to stop despite having a slight touch to it.

This goal meant that Kimmich now has three goals in Bundesliga this season. And to make things more interesting, all of his goals are scored from out of the box which is truly special for the 25-year-old.

Since Bayern took the lead, they became pumped up. To make things worse, they were denied a penalty as well when Haaland's strike was deflected off the arm of Jerome Boateng in the 58th minute of the match.

Alphonso Davies, Bayern's 19-year-old Canadian caught some exclusive attention from all around the world with his sensational performance, especially to beat Erling Haaland. Haaland vs Davis was a treat to watch. It was like playing fire with fire. On one occasion, Davies registered a speed of 35.3km/h (21.9mph) chasing back against Haaland.

It was a monumental game for Manuel Neuer who made his 400th appearance and marked the occasion with a fine save off Mahmoud Dahoud with just 10 minutes to go.

Bayern, who started with a formation of 4-2-3-1 against Dortmund's 3-4-2-1 managed to stay clinical and organized throughout the second half and with a refereeing error that went their way, managed to keep their lead despite having an inferior ball possession by 1%. 

This win gifted Bayern coach Hansi Flick his 15th win out of first 18 Bundesliga matches in charge of the Bavarians. The only other coach to do so was Pep Guardiola. This seems like a hopeful start for the defending champions who didn't have quite a good time under Niko Kovac despite winning silverware. 

With just six games to go, and despite having clashes against Leverkusen, Mönchengladbach, and Wolfsburg - all of which are in the top 6, Bayern is set to secure their 29th Bundesliga title and have a happy start to this brand new decade unless something over-dramatic happens. 

On the contrary, this defeat means Borussia Dortmund's hopes of winning the league title after eight years is all but over.