Bayern Munich pull away from Borussia Dortmund at top of Bundesliga in crowdless Klassiker

• Borussia Dortmund 0 Bayern Munich 1

The silence inside the stadium was eerie but the statement made by Bayern Munich could not have been louder. The reigning champions, the holders of the Bundesliga title since 2013, are not going to be deposed.

In theory, Borussia Dortmund could still pip them to the title, but the gap is now seven points with six games left to play. You simply cannot see a side as experienced as Bayern letting such a commanding late lead slip. This is what they do, this is what they are good at. When you take a shot at the King you had better not miss and Dortmund missed, again.

Beaten 4-0 back in November, this was a much tighter affair and there was no shame in defeat, Dortmund played well and could have grabbed an equaliser after Joshua Kimmich’s exquisite chip had broken the deadlock, but Dortmund remain pretenders.

Bayern’s power remains absolute and the Bundesliga, for all its quality, remains a league too easily dominated by its biggest and richest club.

This game may have looked like a training match at first glance – and it is going to take some more time for most viewers to adjust their senses to games played in vast empty stadiums – but the quality was high. Two quality teams, playing quality football. There was a lot to enjoy, even if it will not remain to everybody’s taste.

Ultimately, it is still a game of football. Not as good, of course not, but the best we are going to get for a while and the two best teams in Germany put on an entertaining show.

It is just a shame the two prize fighters were so off colour, like a boxer who has worn a costume that is so heavy it drained them of energy, a la Deontay Wilder against Tyson Fury.

Erlin Haaland is the pretender to Robert Lewandowski’s throne as the Bundesliga’s most feared and prolific centre forward. Like the young Norwegian, Lewandowski used to play for Dortmund, firing them to two league titles, before Bayern flexed their financial muscles and took him to Munich.

The older man was arguably less threatening in terms of scoring a goal, but far busier than Haaland. He hustled and bustled, made a nuisance of himself and, physically, constantly challenged the Dortmund defence. Haaland showed in flashes, but his first half performance was summed up by an attempted scissor kick, which came off his shin and trickled towards goal.

He just was not quite right, heading the ball into the net early in the first half but from a blatantly offside position.

When he did create something for himself, beating the last defender, to open up a chance, the magnificent Alphonso Davies galloped back to rob him of the ball. The young man will learn football is hard sometimes, despite how impressive he has been so far in his fledgling career, and this was a hard day in the classroom. Davies, on the other hand, was superb throughout, cementing his position as one of the world’s best full backs.

The fact that Bayern’s goal, just before half time, came when Haaland was also caught flat-footed, also marked him down. It allowed the opposition to regain a loose ball on the edge of the area, which led to Kimmich chipping a shot with the precision of a golfer on to the green, the ball spinning above goalkeeper Roman Burki, whose attempt to claw it away failed. Kimmich, if you need reminding, is supposedly a defensive midfielder.

Bayern had already had a shot from Serge Gnarby cleared off the line and although Dortmund held their own, the champions always seemed the more likely to score. The calmness under pressure belonged to the team who have ruled for years, not the young one looking to kick them off their throne.

Haaland squandered another chance after half time, dragging a shot which was already going wide before it flicked off the back of a defender. The men in yellow tried to come back, but Bayern contained and parried and emerged with the win they deserved. Haaland watched the end of the match from the bench, replaced with 18 minutes left to play.

Starting lineups

Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1)

Bürki, Piszczek (Gotze 80), Hummels, Akanji, Hakimi, Delaney (Can 45), Dahoud (Witsel 85), Guerreiro, T Hazard, Brandt (Sancho 45), Haaland (Reyna 72)

Substitutes: Balerdi, Morey, Schmelzer, Hitz

Bayern Munich (4-2-3-1)

Neuer, Pavard, Boateng (Hernandez 85), Alaba, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman (Perisic 73), Müller, Gnabry (Martínez Aguinaga 87), Lewandowski

Substitutes: Odriozola,, Cuisance, Ulreich, Mai, Batista Meier, Zirkzee