Tempers flare as Borussia Dortmund clash with Bayern Munich

Borussia Dortmund ended Bayern Munich's 14-match winning run in the Bundesliga as the warm-up for the Champions League final finished in a fiery 1-1 draw.

Bayern had five players booked and full-back Rafinha sent off, while Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp was caught up in a heated exchange with visiting sporting director Matthias Sammer.

With Bayern already having won the league title and Dortmund guaranteed a Champions League place next season, a low-key encounter had been expected as both teams prepare for the Champions League final on 25 May.

Both teams rested key players for the Wembley showdown - Dortmund, without the injured Mario Gotze, rested the likes of Mats Hummels and Lukasz Piszczek, and Marco Reus only appeared as a late substitute.

Bayern were without Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez, with Thomas Mueller coming off the bench.

Dortmund went ahead through Kevin Grosskreutz after 11 minutes, only for Mario Gomez to level after 23 minutes.

The first moment of controversy came on the hour when Jerome Boateng was judged to have handled the ball as he tried to block a Nuri Sahin shot, and a penalty was awarded amid angry Bayern protests.

Robert Lewandowski's effort was saved by Manuel Neuer, but the match boiled over again a few minutes later when Rafinha, who had just been booked, elbowed Jakub Blaszczykowski as they tussled for the ball.

That incident prompted an animated discussion on the sidelines between Klopp and former Dortmund player Sammer.

"It's normal for these things to happen," said Klopp. "People were talking about a friendly but once the game gets under way, it's different. It was a tough battle, situations arise, these things happen.

"I told Rafinha that he should stay away from Jakub, Sammer then told me that I should not talk to the players. Then I said that Rafinha poked him in the face."

Bayern are unbeaten in four meetings with Dortmund this season, having beaten them in the Supercup and German Cup, while both Bundesliga meetings have now ended in draws.

"After last week's result [beating Barcelona in the Champions League] it wasn't easy to get back into the swing of things," said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

"It was a very intensive game where neither side gave anything away. Beforehand, people said that it would be a boring match with so many Bayern players missing, but that clearly wasn't the case."

- BBC

By AFP 2 hrs ago
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