It’s been a season of shocks, from Union Berlin topping the table back in September to Hertha Berlin’s freefall to the very depths of the league since March.
However, it was April that proved to be the most eye-opening month so far in what has been a crazy Bundesliga season. Just when you thought they wouldn’t, Bayern München went full FC Hollywood and now Dortmund sit poised to deliver the dream.
By Chris Williams, our Bundesliga expert
Sorry, what?
Indeed – it was the question of the day, the month, and maybe even the year. Thursday 23 March seemed to be like any other day until Bayern decided to pull the trigger on Julian Nagelsmann’s time as head coach.
Just as we were all settling down for bed, Fabrizio Romano tweeted that the Bavarians were considering parting ways with their then-current coach, in favour of Thomas Tuchel.
It came out of nowhere really, granted there were a few questions about the team’s performance under the 35-year-old, but surely they wouldn’t sack him just before a crucial game against Dortmund, and an even bigger matchup against Manchester City on the horizon, would they?
The answer was yes, less than 24 hours later the unpopular skier come skateboarder was out on his ear and Tuchel was at the helm. If that wasn’t crazy enough what followed was jaw-dropping.
Under the ex-Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea boss, Bayern tore their nearest rivals apart. The Schwarzgelben were the most in-form team in Europe prior to their trip to Munich, unbeaten in 10 they’d amassed 28 points from a possible 30, but inside the Allianz Arena they leaked three goals in 10 minutes, eventually restoring some pride but they left having been pumped 4-2.
A perfect start for Tuchel, but it was also the perfect end – days later they were dumped out of the Pokal at home by Freiburg with almost the last kick of the game, then Pep Guardiola did to Bayern what he’d done to plenty of other sides when in the München dugout, he oversaw a total demolition.
Within 10 days Bayern had gone from treble dreams to scraping for a Bundesliga title, and still, the pain wasn’t over. Four points from a possible nine gave the advantage back to Dortmund and as we approach the final five matchdays it is now theirs to lose, Bayern are not in control of their own destiny.
Maybe, just maybe
Dortmund have sniffed the aroma of Meisterschale glory a couple of times over the last few seasons, but just as the sweet smell of victory drew closer they invariably punched themselves in the face, breaking their nose in the process.
Dropped points at VfB Stuttgart, whilst leading by two goals and with a man advantage, brought the memories of yesteryear flooding back, but with Bayern adopting the persona of traffic policemen and handing out three points to their opposition at will, Dortmund found themselves with a chance to go top and by a point.
This time there would be no mistake, a prolific and professional display against Eintracht Frankfurt resulted in a 4-0 win and with it four players in the Fotmob Matchday 29 team of the week.
Donyell Malen’s performance saw the Dutch international pick up a 9.0 rating, thanks predominantly to two goals from four shots, all finding the target and giving Eintracht’s Kevin Trapp something to do all afternoon.
It was the second week in a row the 24-year-old had made the Matchday’s top 11 and he looks to have found a spot of form at the most crucial time.
Brilliant Bayer Leverkusen
Yes, you did read that correctly. Leverkusen have been superb of late, completely transformed by Xabi Alonso, the Werkself were bottom on Matchday Two and 17th on Matchday Eight when Gerardo Seoane was sacked.
Now, with four weeks and five games to play the team from Germany’s industrial heartland are sixth, and look real contenders to sneak into the all-important fourth spot taking the final Champions League place on offer in the Bundesliga.
They are also Europa League semi-finalists, 180 minutes against AS Roma stands between them and the final in Budapest’s Puskás Aréna.
Losing just once in their last 10 league outings, Alonso’s side are playing some of the best football in Germany. Five straight victories saw them climb five places, with wins against Bayern – and most recently Leipzig – highlighting their impressive transformation under the Spanish tactician.
Florian Wirtz’s return from a cruciate ligament tear bolstered Leverkusen’s ability to control and dictate matches, but the 19-year-old missed their fixture versus Leipzig with an illness, Alonso and co. will be hoping the German international isn’t missing for much longer.
With nine goals and eight assists, Moussa Diaby tops the Leverkusen stats for most goal involvements. The Frenchman has been an integral cog in the Bayer wheel of late and a player his head coach has looked towards both domestically and on their European adventures.
The strongest league in years?
This month I’ll end with a question, is this the best Bundesliga season we’ve seen in a while? Some food for thought as we await the final five games in what is shaping up to be an epic title fight, and I don’t ask this purely because Bayern are stumbling.
At the opposite end of the table, Hertha Berlin currently sits bottom, but the Big City club are not cut adrift. Previous seasons have seen a whipping boy, a team so bad they have been effectively relegated in January.
Just two years ago Schalke 04 ended the campaign on 16 points, 15 behind their nearest rivals. Before that Greuther Fürth finished 10 points worse off than 17th-placed Arminia Bielefeld, and in season 2019/20 the gap from Paderborn 07 to Fortuna Düsseldorf was also 10 points, this time it’s all a little different.
As we approach May, seven points is the slim difference between Hertha at the foot of the table and TSG Hoffenheim in 14th, a normally regarded safeish position. Such is the tightness of the Bundesliga currently that should results fall their way Hertha could still mathematically finish as high as 10th, and Borussia Mönchengladbach who currently reside in 10th could finish as high as fifth or as low as 18th.
For the first time in a long while we have 18 strong teams, and the permutations for who finishes in the European placings and who gets relegated are wild to say the least.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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