An away success in Dortmund is always a big thing, even for the Champions League winners Bayern Munich. At the end of a match worth seeing, FC Bayern celebrated a 3-2 win in the Signal Iduna Park. Bayern remain first in the table, but apparently, Joshua Kimmich sustained a serious knee injury, possibly a cruciate ligament tear. The Dortmund team lost a big game with their coach Lucien Favre, and all attempts at motivation were unsuccessful. BVB had not lacked commitment Bayern won because of Dortmund´s mistakes by using their superior quality.
The 103rd Bundesliga duel between Dortmund and Bayern was eagerly awaited and delivered a highly tactical affair in the first few minutes. This analysis will show how Favre changed his tactics in order to beat the German “Rekordmeister”. This tactical analysis will also examine how FC Bayern were able to claim this victory in the end.
Line-ups
While Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, and Jadon Sancho came back into Dortmund´s first eleven, Bayern had to change a lot in their defensive line. In Niklas Süle, Alphonso Davies, and Benjamin Pavard were three starters who were missed due to injuries. Nevertheless, both teams were lined up in their typical 4-2-3-1 formations they had played in the last couple of weeks.
This led to a very tactical start of the match that was completely balanced with lots of possession for both teams (Dortmund: 49% possession, Bayern: 51% possession). In the end, this is also why mistakes from both defences were the decisive factor in a tight match.






![Manchester City Vs Brighton [1–1] – Premier League 2025/2026: Why Pep Guardiola Tactics Dominated But Failed To Win – Tactical Analysis 7 Man City Vs Brighton 20252026](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Man-City-Vs-Brighton-20252026-350x250.png)
![Burnley Vs Manchester United [2–2] – Premier League 2025/2026: The First Steps Of The Post-Rúben Amorim Era – Tactical Analysis 8 Burnley Vs Manchester United [2–2] – Premier League 2025/2026: The Red Devils New Ideas And Potential Tactical Changes – Tactical Analysis](https://totalfootballanalysis.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Burnley-2-2-Manchester-United-tactical-analysis-350x250.png)
