Favre rues reverse in 'incredible' Klassiker
Lucien Favre saw plenty of reasons for optimism in an "incredible" Klassiker, but defeat still hurt for Borussia Dortmund against title rival Bayern Munich.
Dortmund slipped to third on Sunday (AEDT), three points behind leader Bayern after a 3-2 win for the defending champion at Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund led through Marco Reus late in the first half but quickly conceded a deflected equaliser to David Alaba, setting the stage for Robert Lewandowski to mark his 300th game for Bayern with his 259th goal – his 19th in 22 against his former club – after the interval.
Lewandowski then sent Leroy Sane through for number three, before Erling Haaland brought Dortmund back into the game, although that goal proved in vain as Reus missed a huge chance to equalise.
There were 29 shots in all, not including two disallowed Bayern goals, in an epic, end-to-end encounter.
Although Hansi Flick's side could have been out of sight before Haaland's goal set up a tense finish, Dortmund coach Favre felt hard done by.
"It was a good game overall, very good for the spectators on TV," he said.
"We had many, many chances to score – even in the first half. All in all, we have to be positive, we did a good job. We had so many chances to score, it was incredible.
"But we conceded three goals and lost. It's hard to accept."
Favre's two centre-backs disagreed on whether Dortmund deserved better, with Mats Hummels suggesting his team were unfortunate.
"There was a lack of calm in front of the goal," the ex-Bayern man said. "What can you say?
"All three goals conceded were deflected. We didn't dominate, but we were not lucky either. It was an attacking game. Unfortunately, we missed many, many good opportunities.
"Fortune and misfortune are often decisive in the top games, but we tried again and again.
"In the end, we go home with zero points in a game that can end differently. It's a shame, but that's football."
As Hummels appeared to bemoan Dortmund's inability to take its chances – hitting the target with just five of its 15 efforts – defensive colleague Manuel Akanji was equally concerned by lapses at the back.
Alaba's free-kick – Bayern's 100th Bundesliga goal under Flick – was the first Dortmund had conceded in 441 minutes in the league, yet Akanji acknowledged fault at both ends of the field.
"Three goals is too many," he said. "Too much is expected of our attack to score three or four goals.
"We had the chances up front, but we weren't efficient enough. And then we allowed too many chances at the back.
"We see that we can compete; we had enough chances. We have to exploit them and work even better defensively. Then we'll see where that leads."