It was a gripping final day of the Bundesliga campaign as Borussia Dortmund were cruelly denied their first league title in 11 years. BVB came into the match needing only to match the result of Bayern Munich but Edin Terzic’s men were only able to muster up a 2-2 draw against Mainz while Bayern beat Koln 2-1 to clinch the Meisterschale for an 11th successive season.
Dortmund were under immense pressure from the off as Kingsley Coman fired Bayern ahead in the opening eight minutes at the RheinEnergieSTADION, lifting the Bavarian giants to the top of the Bundesliga table on goal difference. This was swiftly followed up by a headed goal from Andreas Hanche-Olsen to give Mainz the lead, much to the dismay of the Dortmund supporters.
Another blow was to come when Sebastian Haller had a penalty saved moments later after Raphael Guerriero had been brought down in the box. Quickly after, Mainz doubled their lead courtesy of Karim Onisiwo in the 25th minute.
The BVB fans remained in full voice though as Dortmund-born club captain Marco Reus was subbed on for Karim Adeyemi before half time due to a knock. Star man Jude Bellingham though, hampered by injury, remained on the bench.
Reus’ addition appeared to inspire Dortmund as they poured on the pressure – but Mainz defended brilliantly. The best opportunity of the first half for BVB came from Donyell Malen who headed a lofted ball across the six-yard box against the side netting in the final few minutes.
Dortmund continued from where they left off in the second stanza, on the front foot, but Mainz looked threatening on the counter. Time after time, Terzic’s men came close to scoring but were wasteful in the final third.
That was until Guerreiro met a short pass from Gio Reyna with a thunderous strike that whizzed past Finn Dahmen in the Mainz goal. Dortmund’s lifeline was then extended as Dejan Ljubicic slotted away a penalty for Koln, putting BVB back on top of the table by a point.
But just as the celebrations began to ring around the Signal Iduna Park, 20-year-old Jamal Musiala stepped up with an incisive low finish into the bottom corner to hand Bayern a 2-1 lead, as the top of the table flipped once again. That once more put the Bavarians a put ahead of Dortmund.
A late goal from Niklas Sule in the closing seconds to make it 2-2 meant Dortmund levelled Bayern on points but their inferior goal difference meant they handed their arch rivals an eleventh Bundesliga title in a row having had a golden opportunity to end their dominant streak.
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