Perfect surprise – Bayern Munich celebrate eleventh championship in a row
FC Bayern sensationally wins the showdown in the Bundesliga. Munich win at 1. FC Köln, while Borussia Dortmund lose their nerve against Mainz.
TDeep mourning instead of a title party: In a memorable Bundesliga final, Borussia Dortmund gambled away the huge opportunity to win their first championship in eleven years. BVB did not get more than 2: 2 (0: 2) against FSV Mainz 05 and let the permanent champion FC Bayern Munich overtake them at the top of the Bundesliga table. In the Dortmund stadium, which was sold out with 81,365 spectators, coach Edin Terzic’s team played totally insecure in a masterly atmosphere.
Even a two-point lead at the top of the table before the last matchday was not enough to complete the big triumph and quench the huge longing for the title. FCB secured the title with a late goal at 1. FC Köln.
In Dortmund, after years of setbacks and sporting humiliations, everything was done by the big rival from the south. The original championship trophy was ready and the anticipation was huge. An entire region had been looking forward to the big season finale.
BVB seemed inhibited
According to BVB, they could have sold 300,000 tickets for the Signal Iduna Park. Hotels were also quickly booked up, prices shot up to exorbitant heights, everyone wanted to be there. Fans were already queuing in front of the pubs in downtown Dortmund early in the morning. Supporters got in the mood for the game with a fan march to the stadium in bright sunshine.
However, BVB could not use the euphoria on the pitch. On the contrary: The chance of the ninth championship title in the club’s history did not seem to inspire the professionals, but rather to inhibit them. The start of the game was like a nightmare. First Andreas Hanche-Olsen put Mainz ahead after a corner (15th minute), then Sébastien Haller failed with a penalty kick on 05 keeper Finn Dahmen (19th). Dortmund was like in a state of shock, the free-playing Mainz took advantage of it ice-cold. Karim Onisiwo scored to make it 2-0 (24th).
Terzic flailed his arms, pushed his team forward, but all the creativity and goal risk of the last few weeks was suddenly gone. Karim Adeyemi had to be replaced due to injury before the break. Captain Marco Reus came for the 21-year-old. It didn’t get any better with the offensive routine either. BVB’s attempts to attack seemed more like a headless attack than an offensive game with a plan.
“Let’s go, we’ll do it,” shouted stadium announcer and ex-BVB professional Norbert Dickel to the fans and team. However, BVB was lucky that Mainz did not even increase. Again and again the guests surprised the unsorted and completely nervous Dortmund defense. Onisiwo’s post shot (57th) was just one of several top-class Mainz goal chances.
Terzic, dressed all in black, became more and more desperate on the sidelines. The 40-year-old made one offensive change after the other. Midfield driver Jude Bellingham, who was recently absent with a knee problem, remained on the bench. Raphael Guerreiro, who brought BVB even closer to the title dream with his goal, gave hope. In injury time, Niklas Süle even scored to make it 2-2, but the draw wasn’t enough.
Musiala the match winner of FC Bayern
Bayern, on the other hand, have secured their eleventh German championship title in a row thanks to young star Jamal Musiala. At the end of an overall messed-up season, the Munich team trembled to victory in Cologne after an actually less than masterful performance. Bayern managed to win their 33rd league title for only the third time after 1986 and 2000, although they didn’t go into the last matchday as the leaders of the table.
After Kingsley Coman took the lead (8′), Dejan Ljubicic’s hand penalty (81′) seemed to snatch the title away from Bayern, then Musiala, who had been on the bench four minutes earlier, scored (89′). Thus, coach Thomas Tuchel, who was hired in March, won his first German championship title after being eliminated from the Champions League and the DFB Cup.