To no one’s surprise, Bayern Munich wrapped up the Bundesliga title with two matches to spare. If the results looked chalky in this antepenultimate (that means third from last) round of games in the season, take a closer look.
Bundesliga winners from Matchday 32
Bayern Munich
It’s kind of anticlimactic when you win the title because the second-place team drops points, but ask Harry Kane and Eric Dier if they care. The ex-Spurs players saw their trophy-less spells end after Bayer Leverkusen could only manage a draw against Freiburg. Dier has already announced he will leave Munich after this season, and he’ll do so with a Bundesliga medal to show for it.
Xavi Simons
The little Dutchman assisted on two goals for RB Leipzig, including Yussuf Poulsen’s goal deep into stoppage time that earned them the draw against Bayern Munich. Before that, his pass from inside his own half gave Benjamin Šeško tons of space to run into and allowed the Slovenian striker to lob over an out-of-position Jonas Urbig. The draw delayed Bayern’s title celebrations, but it was a huge point for the Red Bulls’ Champions League aspirations.
Alexander Bernhardsson
It was the Swedish striker’s turn to provide the clutch plays for Holstein Kiel. He scored two goals in their 3-1 victory over Augsburg, as his headed lob over Finn Dahmen was a thing of beauty. With relegation rivals Heidenheim and Bochum drawing each other, Kiel can still snatch that playoff spot or even save themselves cleanly.
Karim Adeyemi
Serhou Guirassy scored two goals in Dortmund’s win just like Adeyemi did, but the German attacker’s scores were more impressive, coming from two skipping runs through the heart of Wolfsburg’s defense. The 4-0 rout put Dortmund in fourth place temporarily.
László Bénes
Union Berlin’s fourth straight draw (and their fifth from their last seven games) came when the Slovak midfielder took Tom Rothe’s cutback from the left side and soft-pitched a shot off the far post and in, leaving the match tied at 2-2 against Werder Bremen. Avoiding losses has taken the Iron Ones up to 13th place and guaranteed their place in the Bundesliga for next season.
Bundesliga losers from Matchday 32
Freiburg
Ten minutes away from a statement win over Bayer Leverkusen at home, they gave it away to a mazy solo run by Florian Wirtz and a header by Jonathan Tah deep into stoppage time. The point Freiburg picked up from the draw inches them ahead of Dortmund into fourth place, but they may very well need a result against third-place Eintracht Frankfurt on the final day of the season to get into the Champions League.
Mainz
Their draw to Eintracht Frankfurt means that they’re still in the Champions League hunt, but they’ll need to win their remaining games and receive lots of help to get there. In particular, they’ll need Freiburg to drop points in both of their remaining games, which are at Holstein Kiel and away to Eintracht.
Nikola Vasilj
St. Pauli’s goalkeeper should have been the hero after pulling off an incredible double save off Nick Wolltemade’s penalty and then off Atakan Karazor’s follow-up attempt with their game against Stuttgart still goalless. Unfortunately, the Bosnian netminder gave up the match winner in the 88th minute to Wolltemade and then received two yellow cards in quick succession for protesting during stoppage time. With his team still trying to claw their way to safety, Vasilj’s looming suspension won’t help.
Kevin Müller
The Heidenheim goalkeeper was concussed in a midair collision with Bochum midfielder Ibrahima Sissoko. The Heidenheim faithful will hope that backup Frank Feller (who was playing for FC Copenhagen three months ago) can hold things down while Müller recovers.