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Sébastien Haller after missing a penalty in the season finale
Photograph:
Lars Baron / Getty Images
Less bad is also better: A lot of things about FC Bayern's season were weak, a lot of things were open to criticism. The supposed star purchase Sadio Mané and his scuffle with Leroy Sané, the release of Julian Nagelsmann, which became a public mud fight, Manuel Neuer's skiing holiday with a broken leg, the cup exit nationally as well as in the premier class, the worst points average in twelve years. But there was also a ray of hope. His name is Jamal Musiala, his dribbling in a confined space inspired in the club as well as in the national jersey. The 20-year-old had also sunk into the form hole recently, but in the last and most important moment of the season, Musiala remembered what makes him special: carefreeness, quick ideas, goal threat. Cologne's Marvin Schwäbe was able to parry Leroy Sané as well as he could: When the second wave rolled in and Musiala finished from the edge of the sixteen, Schwäbe was powerless - and FC Bayern were German champions (89th minute). A champion about whom Bayern veteran Thomas Müller later said: "Anyone who is interested in German football certainly has a subliminal feeling that we don't deserve it. And I can understand that."
The result: The German football champion is Bayern Munich. For the eleventh year in a row, the Star of the South shines brightest. Thomas Tuchel's team achieved the mandatory task with the 2-1 (1-0) at 1. FC Cologne, which rivals Borussia Dortmund (2-2 against Mainz 05) could not fulfill. Click here for the match report.
The swarm: Matchday 34, top of the table, home game: All the Black and Yellows had really gathered in Dortmund this weekend to celebrate the possible championship. This was true not only for the fans in the South Stand, but also for some visitors from the animal kingdom. A swarm of bees had settled on a TV spotlight, and the distant relatives of Dortmund's mascot Emma were escorted out of the stadium by the fire brigade.
The poisonous sting: While the bees ultimately turned out to be peaceful, the same could only be said about the series champions from Munich to a limited extent. On the eve of the showdown, Müller tried to confront BVB with his own nerves. "BVB have to withstand the pressure first," the Bayern veteran teased in the direction of the Ruhr area. Müller's declaration of war was to prove prophetic.
The King: Not nervous at all in the last conference of the season: FC Bayern. With Müller in the starting line-up, but above all: With Kingsley Coman on the left wing, the Dortmund pursuer began his attacking run. A win was needed, otherwise BVB could no longer be caught. And for Coman, this task was almost a personal one. So far, the Frenchman had won ten national championship titles in ten professional seasons, with PSG, Juventus, Bayern. Should it be different this time? Coman received the ball at the left corner of the penalty area, Cologne's Benno Schmitz hardly put him under pressure, and so the "King" snuck his Munich team to the top of the blitz table with a wonderful goal (8th minute).
Stolen from it: And it got worse for BVB. Because a goal was also scored in Dortmund – for FSV Mainz 05, for whom it was all about honour, no longer about Europe, no longer against relegation. Edimilson Fernandes brought a corner kick into the sixteen, somewhere between knee and head height at the short post. And only one person recognised that: Andreas Hanche-Olsen first eluded Emre Can, dived and got to the ball with his head in front of Sébastien Haller, who hit between the post and goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (15th).
Lessons learned from Bochum: BVB now needed two goals to win the title. And the first seemed very close when Dominik Kohr kicked Dortmund's Raphaël Guerreiro in the heels in the Mainz penalty area. Referee Marco Fritz initially overlooked the foul, memories of the draw in Bochum were awakened when referee Sascha Stegemann denied Dortmund a penalty. But this time the video assistant switched on, and Fritz pointed to the point afterwards.
Haller's great tragedy: Haller had scored five times in the last three games, and the centre-forward had become the player his attacking colleagues could stand up to after recovering from testicular cancer. Now he had to shoulder the hopes of an entire city, Jude Bellingham, who had recently been successful from the point, was absent with a knee injury. It would have been a fantastic heroic story, but Haller shot lax and out of place - Finn Dahmen in the Mainz goal held the lead for the underdog (19th). At the same time, Bayern failed to add to their tally, Müller put a header on the post.
The captain goes on board: The nervousness had eaten deep into the Dortmund game. So deep that Karim Onisiwo even increased with a header (24th), Lee Jae-sung had hit the cross, Kobel did not look good when he was caught on the wrong foot by the centrally placed header and deflected the ball to his own inside post. To make matters worse, Karim Adeyemi didn't go any further a little later (37th). The winger had to leave the field with an injury, BVB legend Marco Reus entered the pitch and immediately took over the captain's armband.
One hand on the bowl, one on the ball: In the meantime, the hope of the Black and Yellows was mainly on an equaliser from Cologne. The fan camps of BVB and Effzeh are friends, in the cathedral city some fans appeared with two-tone scarves to celebrate the bond with the Dortmunders. In these moments, however, both teams were also united in their shakiness: Leroy Sané almost decided the game in favour of Bayern before the break, his goal was whistled back for handball (45th).
It's crumbling: Edin Terzić had brought in a second striker in Youssoufa Moukoko, and soon followed up with 17-year-old Julien Duranville. While Dortmund brought the young attackers into the game, Tuchel took Müller off the pitch and brought in defender João Cancelo (62nd). Gradually, it became apparent that the people of Cologne would take command. When Guerreiro scored the connection for BVB (69th), the long-distance duel seemed to tip over.
Wet: The fact that the season finale really didn't miss a volte was also proven by the lawn sprinklers in the Cologne stadium just under 20 minutes before the end of the game. They spontaneously took on a life of their own and provided some cooling before a hot final phase.
From free-kick to penalty spray: Ten minutes before the end, the video referee intervened again in Cologne, again to the detriment of FC Bayern. Referee Sven Jablonski had seen Serge Gnabry's handball, but decided on a free kick and sprayed the line on the pitch to mark the point of execution. The TV images then showed that Gnabry's offence happened on the penalty line, and because the line is part of the sixteen, Jablonski sent the free-kick to the penalty after the intervention via radio. Dejan Ljubičić scored in the 81st – and suddenly BVB were back in front. Until Musiala came.
Too little, too late: In the end, it was no longer enough for those who still hoped. Not for BVB, who equalised through Niklas Süle (96'), but would have needed another goal due to the worse goal difference. And probably not for Bayern bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidžić, who will be replaced despite the minimum goal achieved. Jan-Christian Dreesen will take over Kahn's duties as chairman of the board, and the successor to sporting director Salihamidžić is still unclear.