Maximilian Beier's stunner sends Dortmund top after Frankfurt win ahead of Bayern Klassiker
Beier's curler lifts Dortmund back to the summit
Borussia Dortmund rode their luck at times against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 7, but their narrow 1-0 victory, and the manner of it, will have given Niko Kovač and his players a timely confidence boost ahead of a crucial week for Die Schwarzgelben.
Maximilian Beier's magnificent 80th-minute drive earned Dortmund all three points at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday evening, as Kovač's side bounced back from successive Bundesliga draws against Werder Bremen and Union Berlin.
His latest strike, a curling drive into the top corner of Noah Atubolu's goal, was arguably the goal of the Bundesliga weekend so far.
"I practise those shots a lot in training," he told Sky. "I'm obviously happy if they end up going in like that. Believing in yourself [in those situations] is the most important thing. If you don't, you won't get anything out of them."
Schlotterbeck: 'We're improving'
Nico Schlotterbeck admitted the performance was not yet at its best but pointed to progress. "It was a lot of fun tonight," he told Sky Germany. "We didn't give anything away in the second half. If we had survived the final two minutes against Bremen, we would have won six of our first seven league games, which is really good.
"We're not playing as well as we can at the moment, but we're improving. We're heading to Bayern next week and want to put in a good performance there too."
Dortmund top, Bayern still have a game in hand
Saturday's slender win lifted Dortmund back above the champions at the top of the Bundesliga standings. Bayern still have a game in hand on BVB, but that fixture is against Julian Schuster's Freiburg, who sit just a point behind the Bavarians in third place.
Bayern needed three late goals to beat Freiburg at the Europa-Park Stadion back in April, coming back from 2-0 down. If they fail to collect all three points on Sunday, BVB will head to the Allianz Arena next weekend as Bundesliga leaders, something they have not done since Matchday 26 of the 2022/23 campaign.
Kovač eyes positives before busy week
"We're obviously hoping for a repeat [result] in the coming days," Kovač said after watching his side overcome his former employers. "After three tough away games, it meant a lot to me to see us beat a strong footballing side tonight. Those are the positives we'll take from this game."
The result came after a midweek Champions League win over Azerbaijani side Sabah, six days after a 1-0 defeat at Bodø-Glimt. Dortmund next face Werder Bremen again in the second round of the DFB Cup on Tuesday before travelling to Bayern Munich for the first Bundesliga Klassiker of the 2026/27 season.
Beier, 24, has often been deployed out of position this season but is developing a knack for popping up with crucial efforts. Last month he scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win at VfB Stuttgart. Across his seven Bundesliga appearances in the 2026/27 season, he has two goals and two assists (FotMob, snapshot as of 24 October 2026).