In a climactic season finale, Bayern were celebrating what ended up being an unexpected title win while Dortmund’s dreams of their first league trophy since 2012 were left in tatters when they were trailing 2-0 to Mainz early on before battling to a 2-2 draw – but they needed victory to become champions.
THE MEISTERSCHALE IS OURS! 🙌🏆#MiaSanMeister pic.twitter.com/Z2xR25PhPr
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) May 27, 2023
Bayern finished on 71 points, ahead on goal difference from Dortmund. RB Leipzig and sensational Union Berlin are third and fourth respectively and will also compete in the Champions League next season.
Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04 were relegated, while VfB Stuttgart will go into the relegation playoff.
Kingsley Coman settled Bayern’s nerves early on, putting them into the lead with a superbly curled shot into the top corner.
With Dortmund behind from the first half, the Bavarians knew they were now in front and controlled the first half without risking too much.
Leroy Sane did slot in just before the break but his effort did not count following a VAR review for handball.
Advertisement
With Bayern club bosses nervously checking their mobile phones for the score in Dortmund, Cologne earned an 80th minute penalty and Dejan Ljubicic sent keeper the wrong way to level.
Sane thought he had missed the chance to hand his team the title when he failed to beat the Cologne keeper in the 88th but Musiala did it perfectly a minute later, curling a low drive into the far post in the rollercoaster season ending.
Dortmund’s title dreams in tatters after shock home draw to Mainz
Advertisement
Borussia Dortmund’s dream of their first Bundesliga title in 11 years turned into a nightmare on Saturday after a shock 2-2 home draw to Mainz 05 dropped them to second place on goal difference in the season finale, handed the title to rivals Bayern Munich.
With a sea of tens of thousands of yellow and black-clad fans outside the stadium and a sold-out 81,000 crowd inside ready to pop the champagne for their first league crown since 2012, Dortmund went into the game in top spot.
😫😔😣 pic.twitter.com/I62zzuI9fk
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) May 27, 2023
The club had ordered more than 120,000 litres of beer according to club bosses but fans had nothing to celebrate at the start with Mainz snatching the lead through Andreas Hanche-Olsen’s header at the near post in the 15th minute.
Dortmund’s Sebastien Haller had a golden chance to level and lift some of the mounting the pressure on his team just four minutes later but he saw his weak penalty saved.
It got even worse in the 24th when Karim Onisiwo was left with far too much space in the box to drill in his header, shocking the hosts and silencing the stadium.
A second half attempted comeback did not yield immediate results, even as coach Edin Terzic brought in captain Marco Reus and striker Karim Adeyemi.
Advertisement
Mainz, playing without any pressure, made it hard for Dortmund who needed to up the tempo further and cut the deficit with Raphael Guerreiro’s shot in the 69th.
With the fans growing louder again the hosts poured forward with substitute teenager Julien Duranville injecting new life into Dortmund’s game.
Also Read'Insult to Kolkata's sporting culture, an undemocratic step': East Bengal…
Marco Reus: Forever the bridesmaid
The Silence of the Lambs: How Dortmund succumbed to the serial winners Ba…
Chelsea wins Women's Super League for 4th straight yearAdvertisement
They levelled deep in stoppage time with Niklas Suele but ran out of time for a winner, with the players left lying on the grass, their heads in their hands and tears in their eyes for the missed title shot.
