MY ACCOUNT
Borussia Dortmund suffered final-day heartbreak as they missed out on a first Bundesliga title for 11 years on goal difference, despite fighting back for a 2-2 draw against Mainz.
Edin Terzic’s side squandered the opportunity to be crowned champions of Germany as Bayern Munich snatched the title with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Koln, Jamal Musiala hitting a late winner for Thomas Tuchel’s men.
Dortmund were always playing catch-up after falling 2-0 down to first-half goals from Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Karim Onisiwo, while Sebastien Haller saw a weak penalty saved.
Raphael Guerreiro gave them hope in the second half, but Musiala’s late strike for Bayern at RheinEnergie Stadion rendered Niklas Sule’s last-gasp BVB equaliser academic.
After Bayern went ahead early in Koln, Signal Iduna Park was silenced in the 15th minute as Hanche-Olsen headed in Edimilson Fernandes’ corner.
Dortmund squandered a great opportunity to respond within four minutes, Finn Dahmen saving Haller’s tame penalty after Dominik Kohr fouled Guerreiro in the box.
The hosts were duly punished five minutes later, the unmarked Onisiwo afforded too much space to nod Lee Jae-sung’s cross beyond Gregor Kobel.
Julian Brandt and Donyell Malen went close at the other end but Mainz almost added a third after half-time, Lee calling Kobel into action and Onisiwo rattling the post.
Opportunities went begging for Haller and Malen, but Dortmund finally broke through in the 69th minute as Guerreiro exchanged passes with substitute Gio Reyna before slotting past Dahmen.
Dortmund required a further two goals, but Marco Reus missed a great chance while Haller and Reyna headed straight at Dahmen.
It was not until the 96th minute that Sule levelled but following the dramatic developments in Koln, it was too late for the hosts to find a third goal to take the title away from Bayern.
What does it mean? Despair for Dortmund
Dortmund became only the sixth Bundesliga team to surrender top spot on the final matchday – and the first since Bayer Leverkusen did so 23 years ago.
It was just not meant to be for Terzic’s side, despite them registering a staggering 29 shots on goal and enjoying 73.3 per cent of the possession.
Bayern subsequently maintained their stranglehold on the Bundesliga crown.
Defiant Dahmen denies Dortmund
Although Dortmund took a while to get into their stride, their cause was certainly not aided by Dahmen’s exploits between the sticks.
The Mainz goalkeeper generally kept the hosts at bay with eight saves, including a smart stop to deny Haller from 12 yards in the first half.
Heartbreak for Hummels
A four-time winner with Bayern, the veteran defender missed out on becoming the first player in Bundesliga history to win the title three or more times with two different clubs.
Hummels would also have been the fourth different player to win three league titles with Dortmund after Stefan Reuter, Lars Ricken and Sebastian Kehl, but it was not to be.
What’s next?
Dortmund will hope to finally break Bayern’s dominance next season, while Mainz will look to improve on their top-half finish.
