Aggrieved Dortmund heads to Bochum fortress in Bundesliga

Still reeling from a contentious loss to Bayern Munich in the “Klassiker,” Borussia Dortmund now has a very different task — shutting down an upstart neighbor with a formidable home record.

Recriminations from the 3-2 loss to Bayern, decided by a penalty, have continued all week as Jude Bellingham was fined 40,000 euros ($45,000) for questioning the league's choice of referee Felix Zwayer, who in 2005 was given a six-month ban in relation to a match-fixing scandal centered on another referee.

It was hard not to see Dortmund's 5-0 demolition of Besiktas in the Champions League on Tuesday as a way of letting off steam in a largely meaningless game that couldn't affect the standings.

Dortmund's Erling Haaland, back row, sits on the bench during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. (AP PhotoMartin Meissner)

Next up comes a different challenge.

Normally, Bochum wouldn't be a serious rival to Dortmund, but the promoted team from a city just 11 miles (18 kilometers) away has been quietly turning its home stadium into a fortress.

On Saturday, Bochum will host Dortmund aiming to extend its three-month unbeaten record at home. That run has helped lift the team away from the relegation zone and up to 10th in the Bundesliga, ahead of big names like Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin.

Bayern's Kingsley Coman, foreground, controls the ball as Barcelona's Oscar Mingueza defends during the Champions League group E soccer match between Bayern Munich and FC Barcelona in Munich, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021. (AP PhotoMatthias Schrader)

Dortmund's home form is strong, even if the Bayern loss spoiled its 100% record, but away from home Marco Rose's team has been shaky, with three wins and three defeats. What remains to be seen is how severely Germany's new coronavirus restrictions, which cap Saturday's crowd at 13,799, will hush Bochum's loud and intimidating atmosphere.

Bayern opened up a four-point lead at the top of the table by beating second-place Dortmund and backed that up with a surgical 3-0 win over Barcelona to eliminate the debt-burdened Catalan giant from the Champions League on Wednesday.

Bayern has to play in an empty stadium because of the pandemic rules in its home state of Bavaria, but that didn't stop Bayern cruising to victory against Barcelona and likely won't stop a win over Mainz on Saturday to continue the march to a 10th consecutive title.

Leipzig's Mohamed Simakan, right, celebrates with Leipzig's Josko Gvardiol at the end of the Group A Champion's League soccer match between RB Leipzig and Manchester City at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021. (AP PhotoMichael Sohn)

Mainz is seventh in the league at the end of a turnaround year for the club since appointing Danish coach Bo Svensson in January when under threat of relegation. Since then, he's won 17 of 36 games and drew another nine.

Leipzig has a new face on the touchline after hiring former Schalke and Spartak Moscow coach Domenico Tedesco to replace Jesse Marsch, who departed on Sunday after failing to build any momentum with a squad in the middle of a rebuild.

The 36-year-old Tedesco tended to prioritize defense at Schalke and may seem an odd fit for a Leipzig team molded by the high-intensity, high-risk style of Ralf Rangnick and Julian Nagelsmann. His career highlights look better in retrospect, though. Schalke was relegated the season after he took the team to the Champions League last 16 and Spartak is ninth in the Russian league after finishing second under Tedesco.

Tedesco's first opponent is the one Bundesliga team even more inconsistent than Leipzig. Borussia Mönchengladbach was riding high after hammering Bayern 5-0 in the German Cup in October for the champion's worst loss since 1978. Now Gladbach is trying to bounce back from its own crushing defeat after being torn apart 6-0 by Freiburg on Sunday.

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Bayern Munich is used to winning the Bundesliga title. Even so, this one is special.

Not only would it be Bayern's 10th in a row — a feat never achieved in any of Europe's top five leagues — but the club can clinch the title at home on Saturday with a win in the “Klassiker” against Borussia Dortmund.

Bayern's stadium will be packed for the match, making a difference from twice celebrating titles in empty arenas amid the pandemic.

Bayern's Serge Gnabry, left, and Arminia's Manuel Prietl challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Arminia Bielefeld and Bayern Munich in Bielefeld, Germany, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP PhotoMartin Meissner)

The mood in Munich on Thursday was relaxed, with Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann already discussing his players' tradition of celebrating league wins by pouring beer over the coach.

“Beer is supposed to be quite good for your hair,” he joked.

Still, Nagelsmann admitted that winning the Bundesliga again has “perhaps a little bit less meaning in Munich" than the Champions League, where Bayern was eliminated in the quarterfinals with a surprise loss to Villarreal.

Bayern's Jamal Musiala, down, is celebrated by Bayern's Alphonso Davies, up, after scoring his side's third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Arminia Bielefeld and Bayern Munich in Bielefeld, Germany, Sunday, April 17, 2022. (AP PhotoMartin Meissner)

“On Saturday, it's still a special situation to do it against Dortmund, to do it against your direct competitor in your own stadium with a full house,” he said.

Ten titles in a row would be a historic achievement for Bayern but less helpful for the Bundesliga. Stagnation at the top makes it a harder sell to international audiences.

Winning the league is just meeting minimum expectations for Nagelsmann in the first year of a five-year contract.

Dortmund's scorer Erling Haaland sits on the grass after winning the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, April 16, 2022. (AP PhotoMartin Meissner)

“I think that if I didn't win it with the team, then I wouldn't be the coach here any more," he said.

Dortmund trails Bayern by nine points with four games remaining and would need a big win Saturday and a dramatic Bayern collapse to have any hope for the title. Still, they would love to spoil Bayern's party.

Bayern has won its last seven meetings against Dortmund, though the last encounter was a hard-fought game which ended amid bitter recriminations. Bayern won 3-2 with two goals from Robert Lewandowski but all the focus was on referee Felix Zwayer after Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham used a post-game interview to recall Zwayer's links to a 2005 match-fixing case. Bellingham later was fined.

Freiburg's Lucas Hoeler, Ermedin Demirovic, Nico Schlotterbeck and Christian Guenter, from left, celebrate after winning the German Soccer Cup semifinal soccer match between Hamburger SV and SC Freiburg in Hamburg, Germany, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. (AP PhotoMartin Meissner)

It could be the last "Klassiker" for Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, with the Norwegian linked with a move to Manchester City at the end of the season. He is coming off a period of poor form after missing February with muscle problems — a worrying repeat occurrence for the 21-year-old striker — though he ended a scoring drought with two goals in last week's 6-1 rout of struggling Wolfsburg.

Outside of the top two, there's still a fight for the other Champions League places. Leipzig is in third place and Bayer Leverkusen is fourth, and both are under pressure from fifth-place Freiburg.

Freiburg, which has also reached the German Cup final, takes on Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday in a game which could make or break its Champions League chances.

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