Now or never for Dortmund to make the 'Klassiker' count for something

What began as an attempt to brand the Bundesliga with something akin to the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid looked to have jarred to a lopsided end last season with Bayern Munich reaching for the stars and Borussia Dortmund instead in the gutter.

Bayern beat BVB at the Westfalenstadion in November leaving Jurgen Klopp's side third from bottom. In April, Robert Lewandowski scored against his former club again to hand them a 1-0 defeat in Munich. By that stage of the season, Bayern were 10 points clear of Wolfsburg in second and 31 clear of 10th-place Dortmund.

Some rivalry.

Dortmund's race under Klopp was run. There had been two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final of course but the whole project was burned out. Klopp quit with Bayern having long disappeared over the horizon, even if there was the consolation of a penalty shoot-out victory in the DFB-Pokal semi-final to come.

The days, however, of Dortmund inflicting bitter, painful, meaningful defeats on Bayern in the league looked to be consigned to the past. Remember 2012 when Arjen Robben missed a penalty and Neven Subotic roared in his face? Dortmund won thanks to a Lewandowski goal and then won the Bundesliga shield. They followed that up with a sensational 5-2 cup final win in Berlin. Back then Dortmund were usurpers of Bayern's titles but it was unsustainable.

The 5-1 win for Bayern at the Allianz Arena in October on matchday eight this season only seemed to confirm that fact. Thomas Tuchel had presided over 11 wins to start the season as Dortmund's new head coach but then they stuttered to draws against Hoffenheim and Darmstadt. Those were their last two fixtures before the Bayern game; not the right time to lose form.

The impact of the win demonstrated cruelly the gulf between the sides. It was a squash. Bayern were too big and powerful for domestic rivals and any hopes of a Dortmund title challenge were swiftly extinguished. Bayern were looking towards Barca and Real for their big showdowns now. The Bundesliga would take care of itself.

Only it hasn't just worked out like that. Once again the Black and Yellows are the form team in the Bundesliga. The only points dropped since Christmas came in a draw away against third-placed Hertha Berlin. Nineteen points from the 21 on offer have been enough to shave Bayern's eight-point lead at the top to five - and at the right time too. Five could easily become two with Bayern in the midst of a defensive injury crisis and with only one win in their last three games in all competitions.

The midweek loss to Mainz came as a shock but Bayern can usually brush off those odd defeats like Novak Djokovic smashing one into the net at 40-0 up. They don't mean much. The circumstances now, however, favour Dortmund. They have been shown a chink of light.

Tuchel's side led the table for the first five games of the current campaign to much surprise and have been second since matchday six. They have been eight points back for much of the season though and never legitimate title contenders. Unexpectedly, Tuchel has a chance after picking up the pieces following Klopp's reign. 

"He is an outstanding coach," Pep Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference. "He changed Dortmund's style which was not easy. They're our strongest opponent. And the fact that they're only five points behind us shows how good they are."

For his part, Guardiola must be wondering how it has come to this. "Everybody wanted more tension in the Bundesliga," he said. "Now you have it. There you go, everything's fine."

His team have not done an awful lot wrong but find themselves under a significant amount of pressure with the big games about to roll around. He tried resting players against Mainz but his replacements could not conjure a win.

"Our results against Juventus and Mainz have not been good, but the performances were," he said. "Against Juve it was the best I have seen since I came to Bayern. But we allowed two or three counters and defended them not well. We are not perfect. Sometimes you have to lose to learn what you are missing to be an even better team."

His previous two seasons at Bayern on a continental level unravelled against the charge that his teams peaked in the autumn. If the gap comes down to two points in the league, he will be facing an unprecedented situation. He has never before had to think about a title race in Germany as winter turned to spring.

Maybe the competitive action might be useful to keep his troops sharp for Europe but equally there is a danger now that Bayern will be surpassed. A two-point gap does not leave them a lot of room to manoeuvre.

This is a huge opportunity for Dortmund. It's now or never to put the meaning back in the Klassiker.