There's good reason for Bayern Munich's rout of Dortmund in Der Klassiker dud

Has there been a more low key edition of Der Klassiker in recent seasons? The clash between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had little riding on it short of getting into best possible shape for this week’s Champions League quarterfinal first legs, with Dortmund playing at Monaco Tuesday while Bayern faces Real Madrid the next day. After all, Bayern has as good as wrapped up another title, while Dortmund, currently in fourth, should have enough time to overhaul the one-point gap with third-placed Hoffenheim to secure automatic Champions League qualification.

While Bayern’s 4-1 win told its own story–the reigning champion is clicking into form just at the right point of the season–this lacked the intensity of previous encounters. Dortmund is still decimated by injuries, and coach Thomas Tuchel claimed not to be surprised by the result, which was never in doubt after Franck Ribery and Robert Lewandowski scored inside the opening 10 minutes.

“Anything other than this dominance [by Bayern] and this result would have taken me by surprise,” said Tuchel, comparing Bayern to Real Madrid or Barcelona. In his defense, he picked an inexperienced team, with six players making their first appearance in Munich and another, Sebastian Rode, who had been out for six months.

Christian Pulisic: Budding career of USA, Borussia Dortmund's rising star

Christian Pulisic of the USA celebrates his goal as William Patching of England reacts during the Nike International Friendlies at The Premier Sports Campus at Lakewood Ranch on Nov. 28, 2014 in Sarasota, Fla.

Christian Pulisic of the USA scores the opening goal during the FIFA U-17 Men's World Cup 2015 group A match between USA and Croatia at Estadio Sausalito on Oct. 20, 2015 in Vina del Mar, Chile.

Christian Pulisic and Felix Passlack of Borussia Dortmund arrival at the international airport in Dubai for their training camp on Jan. 7, 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund with a header against Tin Jedvaj of Bayer Leverkusen on Feb. 21, 2016.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund watches as his shot flies past Ralf Faehrmann of FC Schalke 04 and wide of the post at Veltins-Arena on April 10, 2016 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV at Signal Iduna Park on April 17, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring the opening goal together with his teammate Felix Passlack during the Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV at Signal Iduna Park on April 17, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.

Christian Pulisic of the USA attempts to drive past Diego Bejarano of Bolivia during the second half of an international friendly soccer match at Children's Mercy Park on May 28, 2016 in Kansas City.

Christian Pulisic of the USA attempts to chip a pass past Guillermo Viscarra of Bolivia late in the second half of an international friendly match at Children's Mercy Park on May 28, 2016 in Kansas City.

Christian Pulisic of the USA warms up for the Copa America Centenario Group A match against Columbia at Levi's Stadium on June 3, 2016 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Christian Pulisic of the USA reaches for the ball against Gabriel Mercado of Argentina during the Copa America Centenario semifinal match on June 21, 2016 in Houston.

Christian Pulisic of the USA eyes the ball during the Copa America Centenario third place game against Colombia at the University of Phoenix Stadium on June 25, 2016 in Glendale, Ariz.

Patrick McNair of Manchester United in action with Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund during the pre-season friendly match at Shanghai Stadium on July 22, 2016 in Shanghai, China.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund celebrates after scoring the goal to the 1:1 during the International Champions Cup China match against Manchester City during Borussia Dortmund's Summer Asia Tour on July 28, 2016 in Shenzhen, China.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund during a training session on the training ground of Bad Ragaz during Borussia Dortmund's summer training camp on Aug. 7, 2016 in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund gets challenged by Guilherme of Legia Warszawa during the UEFA Champions League: First Qualifying Round 1st Leg match at Wojska Polskiego Stadium on Sept. 14, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland.

Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund scores during the Bundesliga match against SV Darmstadt 98 at Signal Iduna Park on Sept. 17, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.

Teammates of Borussia Dortmund celebrate the 3:0 goal of Christian Pulisic during the Bundesliga match against SV Darmstadt 98 at Signal Iduna Park on Sept. 17, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany.

Christian Pulisic blows by Joevin Jones in the USA's 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 6, 2016, in which he assisted on a goal scored by Jozy Altidore.

Christian Pulisic chips the goalkeeper in scoring a massive goal for Dortmund in its triumph over Benfica in the 2016-17 Champions League round of 16.

It could have been closer, too. At 3-1, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a one-on-one opportunity, and Bayern went up the other end and scored again.

Against Monaco this week, we will be able to compare two teams with the best young squads in the game, but Aubameyang cannot afford to miss those chances then (like he also did against Benfica in the round of 16 first leg). Tuchel will hope that Julian Weigl, Shinji Kagawa and Lukasz Piszczek will all be available, while Marco Reus could be back for the second leg. And as for facing Bayern again, Dortmund will have the chance for revenge in the German Cup semifinal at the end of this busy month.

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As for Bayern, this preparation match for Madrid could hardly have gone any better. Arjen Robben scored a brilliant third and is in fine form; the only concern was Lewandowski, possibly Bayern’s only irreplaceable player, going off early with a sore shoulder, but he reassured that he'll be ready for Wednesday.

Bayern's form has been impressive since the turn of the year; more than Dortmund, or any other team in the Bundesliga, its closest rivalry is probably with Real Madrid. After this result, former Bernabeu boss Carlo Ancelotti will go into the game confident of eliminating the reigning European champion.