After 5-2 win over Frankfurt, Bayern's Thomas Mueller promises Tuesday's crucial clash against Dortmund won't lack intensity without spectators
Bayern's Thomas Mueller shoots to score his team's second goal during a Bundesliga match against Frankfurt in Munich on Saturday. Pic/AFP
Bayern Munich striker Thomas Mueller expects sparks to fly in Tuesday's behind closed doors, top-of-the-table clash at Borussia Dortmund which could help settle this season's title race. Bundesliga leaders Bayern resisted a second-half fightback by Eintracht Frankfurt to claim a 5-2 win behind closed doors. Bayern cruised into a 3-0 lead with goals by Leon Goretzka, the league's top-scorer Robert Lewandowski and Mueller at the Allianz Arena before Frankfurt rattled the hosts. Frankfurt defender Martin Hinteregger bagged two quick goals from successive corners, volleying home and then heading in to make it 3-2 on 55 minutes. Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies settled Bayern's nerves by reclaiming a ball he lost in the area to fire home the hosts' fourth goal with an hour gone. Hinteregger then claimed an unwanted hat-trick when he turned a Serge Gnabry shot into his own net to make it 5-2 on 74 minutes, while second-placed Dortmund stayed four points behind after their a 2-0 win at Wolfsburg."
Strict hygiene measures
Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park would usually be sold out with 82,000 fans creating an electric atmosphere for the showdown. However, the terraces will remain empty for the visit of Bayern due to the strict hygiene measures the German league insists on during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We don't really know how to get into these games without spectators, but I expect us to go to our limits anyway," Mueller told Sky after the thumping of Frankfurt. "Of course, we'd like to have the fans there. There's nothing more beautiful than playing these matches against Dortmund at the Allianz Arena or in Dortmund," he added.
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'Will play with passion'
"But that's our job, and we're going to show that even without spectators we're capable of playing football with passion". Bayern are chasing an eighth straight German league title. A win in Dortmund could leave them seven points clear with six games left. Bayern crushed Dortmund 4-0 when the teams met at the Allianz Arena in November. However, since then Dortmund have signed Norwegian goal-ace Erling Braut Haaland, who has scored 10 goals in as many league games.
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