Borussia Dortmund does not win and forfeits the national title


Saturday, May 27, 2023 at 5:27 PM• Sam Vreeswijk • Last update: 17:38

Borussia Dortmund dramatically missed out on the German national title on Saturday afternoon. With a win at home against FSV Mainz 05, it would be champion, but Edin Terzic’s team played a draw: 2-2. Because Bayern meanwhile managed to win 1-2 against 1. FC Köln, conquered the record master on goal difference, the eleventh Bundesliga title in a row.

Dortmund started the game with the same starting eleven as last weekend, when FC Augsburg won 0-3. As a result, former Eredivisionists Donyell Malen and Sébastien Haller were allowed to show it again from the first minute. Malen has been in excellent shape in recent months: in his last nine Bundesliga games he has scored eight goals and five assists. Jude Bellingham, who was still missing against Augsburg due to a knee injury, started on the bench.

In a swirling Signal Iduna Park, the best chances were in the opening phase for Dortmund. For example, Malen shot just wide from a distance and a volley from Niklas Süle was caught by goalkeeper Finn Dahmen. After fifteen minutes, the first chance for Mainz on the other side of the field was hit. Andreas Hanche-Olsen headed in a corner: 0-1. Two minutes later, Dortmund had the perfect opportunity to equalize again. Dominik Kohr tapped Raphaël Guerreiro, after which the ball was placed on the spot after interference from the VAR. The golden opportunity, however, was not spent on Haller, who saw his penalty saved by Dahmen.

Five minutes later there was the next blow for the home team, when Karim Onisiwo headed in a cross from Lee Jae-sung: 0-2. In the following phase, Dortmund struggled to get through Mainz’s tight defense. The visitors were threatening a few times in the counterpunch, but were unable to score. It worked the Boruses not before the break either, despite chances at the end of the first half for Guerreiro (over), Julian Brandt (save Dahmen from close range), Mats Hummels (again save Dahmen on a long shot) and Malen (header in the side net).

Mainz was the most dangerous team in the first fifteen minutes after the break, so that the 0-3 sometimes seemed to hang in the air. Lee shot the ball from the counter in a favorable position straight at Gregor Kobel and Onisiwo hit the outside of the post. After that, Dortmund once again went all out in the hope of a connection goal, but the ball just didn’t seem to want to go in. Haller, for example, slid the ball just wide at the far post and Malen also missed the goal after a failed shot by Emre Can.

Twenty minutes before the end it finally hit the mark, when Guerreiro hit the inside of the post: 1-2. The home side then went on the hunt for more, but substitute Marco Reus headed over and Haller and Giovanni Reyna headed straight into the hands of Dahmen. Ten minutes before the end, there was suddenly cheering in the stands of the Signal Iduna Park, when the message came in that Köln had equalized against Bayern. Dortmund nevertheless went on the hunt for the equalizer, which fell via Süle, but that was no longer enough. Disillusionment followed when it turned out that Bayern had come 1-2 just in time and thus snatched the national title from Dortmund’s nose.

No. Team m W G v +/- Pnt
1 Bayern Munich 34 21 8 5 54 71
2 Borussia Dortmund 34 22 5 7 39 71
3 RB Leipzig 34 20 6 8 23 66
4 1. FC Union Berlin 34 18 8 8 13 62
5 SC Freiburg 34 17 8 9 7 59
6 Bayer Leverkusen 34 14 8 12 8 50
7 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 13 11 10 6 50
8 VfL Wolfsburg 34 13 10 11 9 49
9 FSV Mainz 05 34 12 10 12 -1 46
10 Borussia Monchengladbach 34 11 10 13 -3 43
11 1. FC Cologne 34 10 12 12 -5 42
12 TSG Hoffenheim 34 10 6 18 -9 36
13 Werder Bremen 34 10 6 18 -13 36
14 VfL Bochum 34 10 5 19 -32 35
15 FC Augsburg 34 9 7 18 -21 34
16 VfB Stuttgart 34 7 12 15 -12 33
17 Schalke 04 34 7 10 17 -36 31
18 Hertha BSC 34 7 8 19 -27 29