Borussia Dortmund despair! Bayern Munich pinch Bundesliga title in thrilling season finale
- Seb Sternik
- 27 May 2023
The closest title race in Europe went right to the wire.
Bayern Munich clinched their 11th straight Bundesliga title following a dramatic finish in the final round of games.
In what may be their sweetest title win of the past decade, Thomas Tuchel's men started the day two points adrift of pre-match leaders Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern, who were beaten 3-1 by RB Leipzig a week before, travelled to FC Koln knowing that their title ambitions were out of their control.
Dortmund, on the other hand, welcomed Mainz to the Signal Iduna Park - a side which lost four consecutive games.
Nevertheless, the pressure was firmly on Borussia and it certainly told as the visitors took a shock 2-0 lead courtesy of Andreas Hanche-Olsen and Karim Onisiwo.
To make matters worse, Sebastien Haller had his penalty saved as Dortmund's title hopes began to slip away.
Over in Cologne, Bayern were able to make their mark early as Kingsley Coman put the Bavarians ahead after just eight minutes.
After facing so many blows, Dortmund needed something to go their way in order to spark a potential turnaround. Raphael Guerreiro was able to provide just that has his 69th minute goal halved the deficit.
Just a few minutes later, Borussia returned to the top of the standings as Dejan Ljubicic converted a penalty for FC Koln to level the score against Bayern.
As both matches entered stoppage time, the tension was palpable. However, it was the Bavarians who were able to withstand the nerves.
Jamal Musiala scored the title-clinching winner for Bayern in the 90th minute, with a tidy strike into the bottom corner.
Over in Dortmund, Niklas Sule grabbed a 96th minute equaliser, though it proved too little too late as the hosts surrendered the title in dramatic circumstances.
Bayern, managed by former BVB boss Tuchel, have won every Bundesliga title since the 2012/13 season.
The club have now won 33 German titles and continue to be the biggest footballing force in the country.
While the defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow for Borussia Dortmund, the club will take encouragement from their overall campaign.
