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Sun 28 May 2023 10:42 am - Jerusalem Time

German Championship: Bayern Munich snatches the eleventh title in a row at the expense of Dortmund

Bayern Munich snatched its eleventh consecutive title in the German Football League, denying Borussia Dortmund an end to its absolute dominance, by beating its host Cologne 2-1 with a fatal goal by Jamal Musiala, taking advantage of its rivals’ draw at home against Mainz 2-2 in the final 34th stage, Saturday.


Bayern finished the season in the lead, with only goal difference from Dortmund, after they tied on points (71), thus depriving the latter of its first title in the Bundesliga since 2012.


The title seemed to be on its way to Dortmund after Colin equalized 10 minutes before the end of the match against Bayern, but Musiala scored the winning goal in the 89th minute, amidst crazy celebrations.


Dortmund entered the closing day as a candidate to end the decade-long dominance of Bavarian, after it was two points ahead of him in the standings and needed a win to clinch the title.


But the beginning was disastrous for coach Edin Terzic's team, and strong for the Bavarian, which paved the way for a sad end for the Ruhr region team and the thirty-third title for Bayern in its history.


At Signal Iduna Park, the Norwegian Andreas Hantsche-Olsen opened the score for Mainz (15), and Ivory Coast's Sebastian Haller missed the opportunity to return by failing a penalty kick (19), before the Austrian Karim Onisiu added to the homeowners' tragedy with a second goal (24).


Simultaneously, Bayern advanced on Cologne with a wonderful goal by Frenchman Kingsley Coman (8).


In the second half, Portuguese Rafael Guerrero narrowed the deficit to Dortmund (69), while Colin equalized 10 minutes before the end of the match through Austrian Diane Lubicic from a penalty kick (81).


The news reached the Dortmund fans amid the joy of the yellow wall, but a magical moment from Musiala with a creeping shot with his right from outside the area towards the bottom left corner extinguished these celebrations in the Ruhr before Niklas Süle scored the second goal for Dortmund, who came late without enough time to add the third (90+ 6).


In Cologne, Bayern players turned around and watched Dortmund's score on captain Thomas Müller's phone before bursting into joy and running towards their visiting fans.


Dortmund missed an opportunity presented to him on a silver platter after he rose to the top in the last stage by defeating Augsburg 3-0 the day after Bayern lost 3-1 at home against Leipzig.


As for Bayern, after its season was threatened to end empty-handed for the first time since 2011-2012, it saved face with coach Thomas Tuchel, who succeeded Julian Nagelsmann in late March with a surprising decision after his predecessor was still competing for the treble.


"Football is just a sport, nothing fixed. We had to do our duty. If we're honest, this match perfectly reflects our comeback stage," said Bavarian club captain Thomas Müller, veteran striker, who became the most decorated player in the Bundesliga with 12 titles.


"The first title (in my career) is probably the one that has the most emotional impact, but in the 19 or 20 years of my career, this is the craziest," he added.


Bayern and its president, Herbert Hainer, announced, minutes after the coronation, the dismissal of its CEO, Oliver Kahn, and its Bosnian sports director, Hasm Salihamidzic, from their positions.


The two men paid the price for the Bavarian club's suffering at the end of the season, as it exited the quarter-finals of the German Cup and Champions League competitions, and saved its season by winning the Bundesliga, after betting on Nagelsmann's dismissal.


In the Ruhr, Dortmund started the match in the absence of Englishman Jude Bellingham, who remained on the bench for not recovering from injury, similar to captain Marco Royce, who entered at the end of the first half.


Even the most pessimistic could not have predicted a worse start for Dortmund at home, as they suffered only one defeat in the league all season before the last game.


Mainz advanced with a low header by Hanchy-Olsen, following a corner executed by Swiss Edmilson Fernandez towards the first post (15).


Dortmund had a golden opportunity to return to the match when Guerrero got a penalty kick after being blocked inside the area, but Haller hit a weak ball that was saved by goalkeeper Finn Gilbert Dahmen (19).


Dortmund's day turned into a nightmare after Onisio doubled his header in front of the goal in the absence of defensive control after a cross from South Korean Jae-Sung Lee on the left (24).


Terzic was forced to make an emergency substitution after Karim Adeyemi was injured and Royce entered (40).


With the start of the second half, the young striker Youssoufa Moukoko was pushed in, and later the American Giovanni Reina and the Belgian Julien Duravill (62).


Dortmund imposed absolute control over the course of the second half and succeeded in reaching the opponent's area on several occasions, but without effectiveness in front of the goal.


Reina's entry had an immediate impact, as he energized the attacking line and the hosts managed to reduce the deficit after the American exchanged the ball with Guerrero inside the area, before the latter fired into the net.


Dortmund players mastered successively wasting chances before Züle scored a late second goal in the final seconds with a shot from inside the area.


The excitement did not differ in the race for the last qualifying card for the Champions League between Freiburg and Union Berlin, which was the share of the latter after achieving a fatal victory over its guest Werder Bremen 1-0 in the 81st minute, while the first fell to Frankfurt 1-2 with two fatal goals for the latter in the 83rd minutes. and 90+1.


Onion, who finished fourth, three points behind Freiburg, will enter the Champions League for the first time in its history, depriving its former partner of achieving the same achievement.


Schalke joined Hertha Berlin to the second division, losing to Leipzig, the former guarantor, for his third place qualifying for the Champions League 2-4, so his balance froze at 31 points in the penultimate position.


Stuttgart finished in sixteenth place (33 points), with a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim, and will play a playoff with the third-placed team from the second division, back and forth, to determine the team that will compete in the Bundesliga next season.


Bochum escaped relegation by defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 as they finished the season with 35 points in 14th place.

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German Championship: Bayern Munich snatches the eleventh title in a row at the expense of Dortmund

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