Borussia Dortmund 1 Bayern 0

Agonising defeat puts huge dent in title hopes Bayern fell to an agonising and damaging defeat away to Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday night, surviving a torrid first half but producing a much improved second-half display, only to concede an unlucky goal and then miss the penalty which would surely have earned a deserved share of the points. The 80,720 full house at Signal Iduna Park saw Jupp Heynckes’ side on the back foot for much of the first half, as the visitors struggled to throw off the shackles applied by the lively and energetic home side. David Alaba and Luiz Gustavo put in sterling defensive work, but FCB were still indebted to Maneul Neuer and the goal frame for keeping BVB at bay. The second half was a very different story as Bayern, inspired and lifted by Franck Ribery, seized the initiative and began to create chances, but rght in the middle of the visitors’ best spell, Robert Lewandowski poked home the opener for the champions. Arjen Robben earned but missed a penalty in a frantic closing phase with shots off the goal frame at both ends, as FCB’s luck ran out and BVB’s held. The result puts an end to Bayern’s run of nine wins in a row in all competitions, and means FCB remain second in the standings on 60 points from 30 matches, now six behind BVB with four games to play. There is no let up in the Bavarians’ packed programme, as FCB are at home to Mainz this Saturday, before Real Madrid visit Munich in the Champions League semi-final first leg just three days later on Tuesday 17 April. With so much potentially at stake on the night, Heynckes put out a full-strength side showing two changes to the team which beat Augsburg 2-1 at the weekend. Gustavo returned from suspension in place of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who began on the bench, with Toni Kroos restored to the starting formation and Anatoliy Tymoshchuk among the subs. That meant the visitors lined up with Neuer in goal behind the regular back four of Alaba, Holger Badstuber, Jerome Boateng and captain Philipp Lahm. Kroos partnered Gustavo in central midfield, with Ribery and Arjen Robben on the left and right respectively, and Thomas Müller in behind prolific central striker Mario Gomez. Dortmund boss Jürgen Klopp, whose side had gone 23 Bundesliga fixtures without defeat before kick-off, also fielded a near-full strength line-up, with former Bayern youth Mats Hummels at centre back and 19-goal striker Lewandowski up front, although German prodigy Mario Götze failed to make a hoped-for comeback to the squad after a long injury lay-off. Once referee Knut Kircher whistled play underway on a brisk spring evening in the Ruhr Valley, Gomez headed straight at BVB keeper Roman Weidenfeller inside the first minute, but the home side were on top for a spell after that and Neuer twice prevented his side falling behind, first narrowing the angle to deny Kuba Blaszczykowski, and then brilliantly thrusting out a foot to block Kevin Großkreutz’ shot from point-blank range, before gathering Lewandowski’s follow up. Heynckes’ men sought to slow the pace now, successfully taking the sting out of Borussia’s early flurry, and although Shinji Kagawa caused a spot of bother in the box after 25 minutes, the visitors had enough men back to clear the danger. Kroos lashed a drive across the face of Weidenfeller’s goal as Munich moved the game line into Dortmund’s final third, but BVB were dangerous on the break and Großkreutz again just failed to connect with an inviting cross. Ribery scuffed his shot after creating a decent position on the edge of the box, but there was a huge escape for Bayern on 37 minutes when Lewandowski crashed a header off Neuer’s right-hand post. FCB dug in and Robben hared to the by-line, but Hummels stuck out a foot ahead of Gomez and the game wound down to half-time with no goals scored. Neuer safely collected Lewandowski’s angled drive as the second half got underway, and had even less trouble dealing with Kagawa’s tame header, before Gomez finaly found a yard of space in the box but was forced wide. Bayern seized the game by the scruff of the neck and enjoyed their best spell of the night around the hour mark, but Kroos spooned his shot into Weidenfeller’s arms, and Ribery smacked a shot into the side-netting from a tight angle. Heynckes sent on Schweinsteiger for Müller after 60 minutes and FCB kept up the pressure, Ribery having a very good shout for a penalty waved away after a clattering challenge by Neven Subotic, and then all but showing the Serb a clean pair of heels only to see the ball nipped away for a corner. Sebastian Kehl fired into the crowd as Dortmund readied a riposte, but FCB were keeping it far tighter now and looked much the better bet for a goal. Kagawa slid his shot wide of Neuer’s far post, before both teams switched things around for the last quarter of an hour, Ivica Olic taking over from Gomez for FCB. But disaster struck on 77 minutes when Bayern failed to clear their lines from a corner and Lewandowski stuck out a foot to divert Großkreutz’ shot past Neuer. The men in red fought for all they were worth in an effort to salvage the game, and were so nearly rewarded with six minutes left when Weidenfeller brought down Robben in the box. The keeper redeemed himself, much to Bayern’s utter dismay, with a solid diving save from the Dutchman’s spot-kick. Olic twisted and turned but was crowded out, and there was stoppage time drama when Subotic headed against his own bar, Robben smacking the loose ball into the crowd, before Lewandowski hit Neuer’s bar in the dramatic finale.