By Frank Kamuntu
Bayern Munich have snatched their 11th consecutive Bundesliga title in dramatic fashion with a final day 2-1 win at Cologne courtesy of Jamal Musiala’s 89th minute goal, grabbing the trophy from the hands of rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund had gone into the last game of the season on Saturday in top spot but stumbled to a 2-2 draw against visitors Mainz 05, allowing Bayern to squeeze past them in the tightest league race in years.
Bayern finished on 71 points, ahead on goal difference from Dortmund.
Rani Khedira fired Union Berlin into the Champions League with a late winner over Werder Bremen for 1-0. Union finished fourth, ahead of Freiburg, who lost 2-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt, and behind third-placed RB Leipzig.
Schalke were relegated after a 4-2 loss at Leipzig, and VFB Stuttgart will contest the relegation/promotion playoff against the team that finishes third in the second tier. Hertha Berlin had already been relegated.
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.
Dortmund had started in pole position, but Sébastien Haller had a first-half penalty saved after Andreas Hanche-Olsen stunned the home fans by heading in Mainz’s opening goal in the 15th minute.
Karim Onisiwo then got Mainz’s second goal in the 24th with another header and the visitors looked capable of scoring more against the mistake-prone Dortmund defence. There was nothing but pride at stake for Mainz.
Raphaël Guerreiro pulled one back in the 69th for Dortmund, but by the time Niklas Süle equalised in the sixth minute of injury time, it was far too late for the “black and yellows”.
While Bayern’s title win rescues some silverware in what has been a frustrating season for the club, several major German media reported shortly after the final whistle that club CEO Oliver Kahn, who was not in Cologne, and sports director Hasan Salihamdizic would leave the club.
The surprise sacking of Julian Nagelsmann in late March and the arrival of Thomas Tuchel was not coupled with success, as the team crashed out of the German Cup and the Champions League last eight. The Bayern board is due to meet on May 30.
The Bavarians needed a win and Kingsley Coman settled their 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, including Salihamidzic, nervously checking their mobile phones for the score in Dortmund, Cologne earned an 80th-minute penalty and Dejan 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.
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