Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre hailed the “fantastic” belief of his side after the Bundesliga leaders fought back to beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in a thrilling Der Klassiker showdown.
Former Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski had put Bayern ahead with a bullet header, but Marco Reus started a second-half comeback when he equalised from the penalty spot.
Although Lewandowski nodded Bayern 2-1 up, Signal Iduna Park was soon in full voice again as German forward Reus swept home a stunning finish and substitute Paco Alcacer’s third goal on the break wrapped up a memorable victory.
The final outcome, however, could have been different had Lewandowski not twice been denied a hat-trick goal by an offside flag, including a close-range effort deep into stoppage time as the Video Assisant Referee upheld both decisions.
Dortmund have now opened up a seven-point lead over their rivals, who stay third, and at the same time equalled the club record of 11 Bundesliga games without defeat.
“It was a crazy game,” Favre said in a press conference reported by the club.
“Bayern was very strong, they dominated us for 25 minutes. We could not master control of the ball – it was like a boomerang.
“Bayern was strong as maybe never before this season, but I had the feeling that they would not be able to keep the pace.
“After Reus’ goal, the crowd was there and we felt that we could win. The morale of the players was fantastic.”
The defeat will again see questions raised over the future of Bayern boss Niko Kovac and the direction of his team.
Kovac, though, will continue to remain positive.
“We saw a fantastic football match from both sides,” he said, quoted on the Bayern website.
“In the first half we had the game in hand, then in the second half, Dortmund did.
“Unfortunately, we lost the game, even though it could have been a draw.
“You can be satisfied with the performance. That was the best game since Schalke – skillful, combative and tactical, especially in the first half.
“We will have to build on that and deliver more games in the future.”