At 16:37 on Saturday, Borussia Dortmund's Marwin Hitz thought he'd let the Bundesliga title slip through his fingers. The backup keeper, making only his second league appearance of the season, allowed Oliver Fink's tame header to squirm through his grasp and hand Fortuna Düsseldorf a second-half equalizer at Signal Iduna Park. At 16:40 his mistake looked as if it may turn out to be irrelevant after Leon Goretzka gave Bayern Munich the lead nearly 440 kilometers (265 miles) east in Leipzig. Three minutes later, Hitz was off the hook after Goretzka's goal was ruled out for the most fractional of offsides in the buildup while Thomas Delaney simultaneously restored Dortmund's lead. Then Hitz gave away a penalty and the hook was back in. Dodi Lukebakio scuffed it wide, the Swiss stopper wriggled free again. Bayern never found the breakthrough. That 10 minutes of gaffes, goals, chaos and controversy was the Bundesliga title race in a microcosm. Thrilling, unpredictable, error strewn, nervy and fun, for the neutral anyway. Dortmund are a team packed with talent but prone to panic while Bayern are a hulking, creaking machine hoping a bit of oil will allow them to make it through to the next big service, where some major cogs will be replaced. German pair Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gündogan could win the title with City on Sunday In contrast, the two sides that will do battle for the Premier League title on Sunday are an object study in the near-elimination of flaws. The UAE-backed Manchester City 'project' has handed one of the world's best coaches several of the world's best players. Predictably brilliant domestic results have followed. A point below them, Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool have spent about €150 million ($169m) on Virgil van Dijk and Alisson in the last 18 months to fix the defensive issues that once undermined them. The overwhelming expectation is that Pep Guardiola's City side will, sooner or later, overwhelm Brighton on Sunday, rendering Liverpool's likely home win over Wolves meaningless. The top two in England have won 81 percent of their games this season, compared to the German pair's 68 percent. Since City last failed to win, Dortmund have dropped 17 points. If the Champions League wasn't proof enough, there's no comparison in quality. DW's Matt Pearson But quality isn't always what matters. Where the Premier League title tussle has been like a carefully-crafted, exquisitely-sourced gourmet meal in the fanciest restaurant in town, the Bundesliga's been the unpretentious backstreet cafe with brilliant food, spectacular service, just the right atmosphere and a surprisingly reasonable bill. Both have their place but, for my money at least, that cafe sounds much more fun. And that's what the Bundesliga has been this term. Sure, Bayern have enjoyed a brilliant and consistent second half of the season while Dortmund enjoyed a great start, but what's made this title race so much fun is the unexpected slip ups: Bayern drawing with doomed Nuremberg after BVB had all but handed them the Meisterschale by losing the derby the day before, both sides dropping points to Augsburg and a healthy smattering of late game implosions and individual errors. By contrast, though some games have been tougher than others, the late stages of the Premier League race have been a dual procession. In an astonishing display of relentless excellence and mentality, City and Liverpool have both won their last eight games when it matters most. Both teams are rightly lauded. Of course, those of us that love football want to see the best. But we also want drama, plot twists, suspense, jeopardy and calamity. Whoever wins the Bundesliga next weekend, we've certainly had that.<doc-sep>Again, it should have been the week that the Bundesliga title was finally decided and once more, it wasn’t. Borussia Dortmund’s dream has been living on borrowed time since they were soundly thrashed in Der Klassiker more than a month ago and on Saturday, the buzzer sounded to indicate that time was up. Briefly. The 50th minute of Bayern Munich’s trip to RB Leipzig should have been the minute that won it and it briefly almost was, before the VAR team whispered in referee Manuel Gräfe’s ear and put an untimely end to the party. “It was a Supertor,” defender Niklas Süle later lamented and it had been, thrashed in on the volley by Leon Goretzka, who sprinted away towards the corner flag and into the perfect knee slide to celebrate. “I felt like an idiot afterwards,” he admitted. The Goretzka goal was ruled out for an offside against Robert Lewandowski, described by coach Niko Kovač as “close but correct” and by president Uli Hoeness as the “joke of the year,” railing against the lack of a clear and obvious nature, despite journalists’ efforts to correct him. Goretzka described the moment as “an emotional rollercoaster. I thought I’d scored the title-winning goal in my first season.” It was easy to have sympathy with his view. Especially as the second half progressed, with the home side penned in, it felt as if one goalwould always have been enough to decide things in Bayern’s favour, with Ralf Rangnick’s side reduced to sparse counter-attacks. Leon Goretzka celebrating his disallowed goal. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters Neither were Leipzig under siege, though. This young team have the best defence in the division and even if they were happy enough to lean on it for long spells, it was evident why. Rangnick rejected the idea of pointers for the DfB Pokal final, when the two sides will come together in Berlin(his side functioned with “five per cent less adrenaline” than they will for the final, he suggested), but Kovač will surely have his thinking cap on for the week that follows the conclusion of the Bundesliga season to work out some solutions to a tough puzzle. Goalkeeper Peter Gulácsi had his moments but didn’t need too many. Willi Orban and especially the teenage Ibrahima Konaté were simply outstanding. Bayern have no need to panic, of course. It’s all still in their hands, a position that – as Thomas Müller was keen to point out – “we would have signed up for immediately in winter.” For the fans who will welcome them home next weekend – many of the club’s ultras groups chose to boycott Saturday’s game as a continuation of protests against Red Bull, despite the importance of the game – it could work out perfectly. The final day scenario alone would make it special for Bayernbut when one bears in mind that not one of the previous nine Bundesliga titles that the club has lifted since moving in 14 years ago has been sealed at the Allianz Arena, putting a full stop to it there would be even more worthy of celebration. There’s been a lot of beer thrown over that pitch since 2005, but it has always felt like being at an organised party context rather than a real football one. Winning it on the same day would be a rare pleasure worth savouring for Bayern. The closest they have come to a home turf celebration was the 2012 Champions League final, though it would take a defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday for the unthinkable to come to pass for a second time. The Bayern perspective is more of a perfect farewell for the departing, but not retiring, duo of Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben, with the Frenchman having the opportunity to advance past a clutch of other Bayern legends, including Oliver Kahn, with his ninth Bundesliga winner’s medal. Franck Ribery will leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season. Photograph: Felipe Trueba/EPA Are the set of circumstances that have led us to this point a cause for celebration? Probably not. This was reflected in the amicable but non-committal references to Kovač. “While we can still achieve a lot and win two titles, we would be best advised not to waste our energy on personnel considerations,” sporting director Hasan Salihamidzić told ZDF’s Aktuelle Sportstudio. “We’ll see,” was the even more circumspect summary from CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. One suspects that Kovač’s future hinges as much on the alternatives available in the next few weeks – Salihamidzić denied Spanish reports that he met Julen Lopetegui in Madrid– as on what Bayern can or can’t get done in the next 12 days. Double or quits, perhaps. Dortmund, anyway, kept up their side of the bargain to keep it going to the final day, which hasn’t been a given in the last few months. Just. After Christian Pulisic, on his final appearance at Westfalen before moving to Chelsea, opened the scoring, they recovered from a Fortuna Düsseldorf equaliser to lead 3-1 in stoppage time, thanks to a sublime finish by Mario Götze. And then the drama, even if it was chillingly familiar to the bulk of the 80,000 fans packed into Signal Iduna Park. The club’s CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke spoke about the pressure being on Bayern next week, but it looked like his side were feeling it more as they almost threw it all away in stoppage-time, conceding a 95th-minute goal to Dawid Kownacki and flirting with meltdown thereafter. “We like to do that,” grinned Götze afterwards, knowing full well that the how and why doesn’t even slightly matter at this point. That BVB, improbably, are still in the mix is what counts. Mario Götze gives a wink after scoring for Borussia Dortmund against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Photograph: Friedemann Vogel/EPA With Bayern and Dortmund’s opponents, Frankfurt and Borussia Mönchengladbach, aiming to snatch the final Champions League spot (with Gladbach in pole for now), there are no guarantees for final day. Especially after the season we’ve been having. Don’t ever call Bayern predictable again. Quick Guide Bundesliga results Show Augsburg 3-4 Hertha Berlin, Dortmund 3-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hannover 3-0 Freiburg, Hoffenheim 0-1 Werder Bremen, Leverkusen 1-1 Schalke, Nurnberg 0-4 M'gladbach, RB Leipzig 0-0 Bayern Munich, Stuttgart 3-0 Wolfsburg Was this helpful? Thank you for your feedback. Talking points Leverkusen, on the week in which they agreed to lay out a club record €32 million to bring in Kerem Demirbay from Hoffenheim, fluffed their lines with fourth place finally there for the taking, conceding a second-half equaliser to Schalke and thus needing to win at Hertha next week and for Dortmund to do them a favour against Gladbach. It could have been even worse if Lukas Hradecky hadn’t saved a Daniel Caligiuri penalty. Peter Bosz’s team thus face the possibility of missing out on the Champions League on the final day for the second straight season. Also this week, former Huddersfield manager David Wagner agreed a deal to coach Schalke next season, where he previously played, an appointment to excite embittered fans hoping for more of the club’s traditional values. Werder Bremen, in ninth, can make the final Europa League place if they beat Leipzig and the two teams above them, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim, slip up. Finally, Nürnberg and Hannover are confirmed relegated after Stuttgart beat Wolfsburg 3-0, confirming the Swabians in the playoff against one of Paderborn and Union Berlin. That’s right, not Hamburg, who remain in Bundesliga 2 next term after slumping 4-1 at Paderborn.<doc-sep>Christian Pulisic opened the scoring as Borussia Dortmund took the Bundesliga title race to the wire with a 3-2 win over Fortuna Duesseldorf Christian Pulisic opened the scoring as Borussia Dortmund took the Bundesliga title race to the wire with a 3-2 win over Fortuna Duesseldorf (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER) Berlin (AFP) - Bayern Munich missed the chance to wrap up a seventh successive Bundesliga title as they were held to a goalless draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday and rivals Borussia Dortmund edged a nervy 3-2 win over Fortuna Duesseldorf. Chelsea-bound US international Christian Pulisic found the net in his final home game for Dortmund, helping them to battle back to within two points of league leaders Bayern ahead of the final round of games next weekend. Bayern can now secure the title with a win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt next Saturday, while Dortmund must win at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Dortmund, who looked dead and buried after slipping four points behind last week, enjoyed the rub of the green as they stumbled to victory over Duesseldorf. Pulisic, who will join Chelsea next season, bid an emotional farewell to the Dortmund fans before the game and then opened the scoring on 41 minutes. A howler from stand-in goalkeeper Marwin Hitz allowed Oliver Fink to equalise, but Thomas Delaney restored the lead for Dortmund. Hitz then gave away a penalty with a foul on Dodi Lukebakio, but the Belgian dragged the ball wide from 12 yards. Mario Goetze appeared to seal the win for Dortmund on 90 minutes, but Dawid Kownacki pulled one back for Duesseldorf minutes later to make it a nerve-jangling finish for the hosts. In Leipzig, Leon Goretzka's stylish scissor-kick sent Bayern into ecstasy after half-time, but the goal was ruled out by VAR. Serge Gnabry hit the bar later in the second half, but Bayern could not force the winner. - Nuremberg and Hanover relegated - At the other end of the table, Nuremberg and Hanover were finally relegated as Stuttgart secured the relegation play-off place with a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg. Hanover went down fighting as goals from Waldemar Anton, Ihlas Bebou and Walace saw them beat Freiburg 3-0. Yet Anastasios Donis, Gonzalo Castro and Daniel Didavi were on the mark for Stuttgart to condemn Hanover and Nuremberg to the drop. Story continues Nuremberg, meanwhile, suffered a 4-0 defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach thanks to an own-goal from Lukas Muehl and strikes from Thorgan Hazard, Denis Zakaria and former Nuremberg man Josip Drmic. The thumping win sees Gladbach go fourth overnight, leapfrogging both Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Schalke, Guido Burgstaller cancelling out Kai Havertz's opener. Frankfurt have the chance to break back into the top four with a win over Mainz on Sunday. Werder Bremen also kept their European hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim, and Hertha Berlin snatched a late 4-3 victory away to Augsburg. Johannes Eggestein's first-half goal condemned RB Leipzig-bound coach Julian Nagelsmann to defeat in his last home game in charge of Hoffenheim. Andre Hahn and Michael Gregoritsch put Augsburg ahead three times but goals from Marvin Plattenhardt and Marko Grujic kept Hertha in the game before a late brace from Salomon Kalou secured three points.<doc-sep>
All Bayern Munich had to do on Saturday was win. But facing third-place RB Leipzig in an away match, the defending German champions could not even manage a goal, as the BBC reported. Of course, Die Roten did not allow Leipzig to score either, but gaining just one point from the 0-0 draw was not enough to secure their record seventh consecutive title. As a result, along with a dramatic 3-2 win by second-place Borussia Dortmund at home over Fortuna Düsseldorf, Bayern's frustration means that the German Bundesliga title race will come down to the final day — for the first time since the 2008-2009 season. In that campaign, Bayern, who had won seven of the previous 10 Bundesliga titles, were edged on the last day by little-heralded VfL Wolfsburg, who managed to top Bayern by two points — after smashing the champions 5-1 in a match earlier that season, according to a Planet Football account of that season. But a decade later, the 2018-2019 race has been equally dramatic. With Bayern entering the season eyeing a record seventh consecutive title, they got off to a sluggish start, and by the end of the calendar year 2018, they trailed their traditional rivals Dortmund by what seemed like an insurmountable nine points, as The Inquisitr reported. Getty Images | Maja Hitij American Christian Pulisic scored a goal that kept Borussia Dortmund's title hopes flickering. In 2019, Bayern Munich won 12 of their first 15 league matches with only one defeat, per Soccerway. But when they needed just one more victory on Saturday, they couldn't find it. Next Saturday, both Bayern and Dortmund face difficult opponents, with the defending champions hosting sixth-place Eintracht Frankfurt, who have proven to be one of the most surprising teams in the league this season. Also on Saturday, May 18, at 3:30 p.m. Central European Time, Borussia Dortmund travels to face rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach — a rivalry based mainly on their shared name, "Borussia," as The Hard Tackle explains. But Gladbach, as the team is called for the sake of convenience, has also had a surprising season, rising from a ninth-place finish last year to currently sit in fourth and in position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. But with only three points separating four teams all battling for that slot, as Bundesliga reports, the "other" Borussia team will be just as desperate for a victory as Dortmund. Only a win will guarantee Gladbach their first Champions League berth since 2016-2017. For Dortmund, their fate is not completely in their own control. A win or a draw by Bayern will clinch the title for the Bavarian club. But if Bayern were to suffer a shock defeat, and Dortmund wins the battle of the Borussias, Die Schwarzgelben wins their ninth German title, and sixth of the Bundesliga era.