Borussia Dortmund's hope for 9th Bundesliga title ends on final day of 2022-23 season

A 2-2 draw against Mainz was not enough for Terzic's side

The Bundesliga 2022-23 race went to the wire. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were the only two teams fighting to lift the title. Dortmund had a two points advantage going into the final match. They failed to capitalise on the opportunities and drew their match against Mainz. Bayern Munich won their match and lifted their 11th title by a margin of one point.

Dortmund made a poor start in the season's finale against Mainz. The visitors scored a goal in the 15th minute to give his side the lead. The home team got a chance to get back in the game. Borussia Dortmund were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute. Sebastien Haller missed the crucial spot kick, and his team conceded the second goal in the 24th minute. Donyell Malen tried to give hope to his side towards the end. But his shot struck the post, and the score remained 2-0 in favour of the visitors.

The second half began a bit slow for the home team. It took them 69 minutes to score a goal in the match. Raphael Guerreiro scored his fourth goal of the season. Niklas Sule pulled a goal back deep in injuries and stoppage time. But this goal was not enough to win them the title.

Borussia Dortmund last won the Bundesliga title in 2011–12 under Jurgen Klopp. Since then, they have finished six times as runners-up and only once outside the top four. This season, they were chasing their ninth German top-division title.

The season started with ups and downs for BVB. Edin Terzic's side won their first five matches, scoring nine times and conceding three. The defence kept three clean sheets. In the next five matches, they dropped points in four and only won one. Dortmund scored five goals and conceded ten. Bayern Munich visited Signal Iduna Park in match week 9, and the match ended 2-2.

Borussia Dortmund made a comeback by winning the next three matches. BVB scored ten goals in these three matches and only conceded one. Dortmund once again lost momentum and lost their next two matches. The defence conceded six goals, and the team replied with only two. Dortmund were sixth at that time. The runners-up from last season won their final match before the World Cup but were sixth in the league table.

Edin Terzic and his men never looked back from that day on. After the World Cup break, Dortmund had an unbeaten run of nine matches. They won eight and drew against Schalke. This run took them to the top of the table. During this run, the team scored 26 times and conceded seven goals. 

Then Borussia Dortmund visited the Allianz Arena. Both teams played a six-goal thriller that ended 4-2 in favour of Bayern Munich. Dortmund dropped to second place and won four points in the next two matches. Then their rivals gifted them a chance to go up. BVB took maximum advantage of the situation and won 4-0 against Eintracht Frankfurt to go into first place. A 1-1 draw in the next match against a struggling VfL Bochum sent them back to second.

The players went into the final games with a strong mindset and won the next three games in the Bundesliga. This run began with a 6-0 win over Wolfsburg. In the following match, they defeated Borussia Monchengladbach 5-2. Borussia Dortmund then added a third consecutive win and took a two-point lead to go to the top. They won 3-0 against FC Augsburg.

Top Performers

Sebastien Haller

Borussia Dortmund were unlucky at the start of the season. Their new signing, Sebastien Haller, was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He made a return to the team after the World Cup break. The striker played 19 games and scored nine goals to become the team's joint-highest goal scorer. 

Julian Brandt

The German international is finding his form in Dortmund colours. The attacking midfielder has scored nine times and assisted his teammates eight times. His 11 goal-scoring contributions came after the World Cup.

Raphael Guerreiro

The Portuguese international has been the league's best creative player. He has assisted 12 times and scored on four occasions in just 27 league games. His ten assists came after the World Cup.

Borussia Dortmund will be unhappy with the way they played in their final match. Despite carrying the momentum, they failed to convert three points when they needed the most.