Borussia Dortmund keeps bringing out the best in Bayern Munich in Bundesliga

BERLIN — Though it’s scant consolation for Borussia Dortmund, it always brings out the best in Bayern Munich.

Bayern’s latest win in “der Klassiker” between the old rivals – a comprehensive 4-0 victory that included a hat trick from Harry Kane – was the 10th consecutive time it emerged unbeaten from their meetings (nine wins, one draw), prompting yet another round of Dortmund soul-searching.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel fell into a long silence when asked to explain why Dortmund has consistently failed to trouble Bayern, before acknowledging: “I can’t say.”

Saturday’s defeat was Dortmund’s first league loss of the season. It had high hopes going into the game, as it was on a 17-game unbeaten run, had vociferous home support, and Bayern duo Joshua Kimmich (suspended) and Matthijs de Ligt (injured) were missing.

Dortmund also hoped to capitalize on Bayern’s disappointment after the Bavarian powerhouse was surprisingly knocked out of the German Cup by third-division Saarbrücken on Wednesday.

But Dayot Upamecano scored in the fourth minute in Dortmund and Kane got the first of his three goals five minutes later. The England captain completed his hat trick in injury time to put the cap on Bayern’s best performance so far this season.

Dortmund only drew one save from Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, who complained afterward he had to wait a long time for Marco Reus’ effort in the second half.

“It’s a very frustrating evening,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzić acknowledged. “To be honest, we were the worse team in all areas.”

The statistics showed a relatively even game — Dortmund even had more crosses and efforts at goal — but Bayern has the likes of Kane, Leroy Sané and Jamal Musiala in its attacking lineup, while Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Alphonso…