Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions for an 11th consecutive season after a late 2-1 win at Cologne snatched the title away from Borussia Dortmund.
Jamal Musiala scored Bayern’s 89th minute winner as Thomas Tuchel’s side snatched the title by the tightest of margins on a dramatic final day.
Dortmund, who entered a pulsating final day two points clear at the top, were denied being crowned champions for the first time in 11 years after they drew 2-2 at home to Mainz, losing out on goal difference.
Bayern knew they needed to beat Cologne and hope for a favour from Mainz, and having led through Kingsley Coman’s stunning eighth-minute strike, the defending champions moved top as Mainz raced into a two-goal lead in the first half at Dortmund.
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Andreas Hanche-Olsen gave the visitors the lead in the 15th minute to shock Signal Iduna Park. Two minutes later, Dortmund were handed a reprieve after a foul inside the box by Dominik Kohr – but Sebastien Haller’s penalty was saved by Finn Dahmen.
Matters got even worse for the hosts on 24 minutes when Karim Onisiwo rose to head home Jae-Sung Lee’s cross from the left. Dortmund only began their response with 21 minutes remaining as Raphael Guerreiro’s shot from Gio Reyna’s pass found the bottom corner.
Edin Terzic’s side still needed two goals to win the match and the championship – provided Bayern stayed ahead in Cologne. That changed, however, when a handball by Serge Gnabry allowed Dejan Ljubicic to level from the spot.
Dortmund fans believed and prayed for the intervention from elsewhere to be upheld, but those hopes were dashed with two minutes of normal time remaining as Gnabry set up Musiala for a decisive blow. Niklas Sule levelled in the 96th minute back at Dortmund – but there was not enough time for a winner.
Dortmund finished on 71 points – the same as Bayern following their victory – but with an inferior goal difference of 15 on one of the most dramatic ends to any Bundesliga season.
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.
In a further twist, Bayern announced immediately after their title triumph they had fired CEO Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Meanwhile, 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.
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.
With Bayern club bosses nervously checking their mobile phones for the score in Dortmund, Cologne earned an 80th-minute penalty and Ljubicic sent the 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.
