Bayern Munich have a chance to wrap up their 33rd Bundesliga title on Matchday 31 with victory against Mainz, coupled with a slip by defending champions Bayer Leverkusen. What decisive games and goals have helped teams secure the Meisterschale in the past?
bundesliga.com runs you through the past six decades of Bundesliga crowning moments…
How could the 2024/25 title race be decided?
2023/24 – Bayer Leverkusen
Xabi Alonso’s Invincibles wrapped up Leverkusen’s first-ever league title in some style with five games to go as they put five past Werder Bremen, including a first senior hat-trick from Player of the Season Florian Wirtz.
2022/23 – Bayern Munich
Bayern’s 32nd Bundesliga title was one of their most dramatic. Going into the final day trailing Borussia Dortmund by two points, they had to win in Cologne and hope for a favour from Mainz in Dortmund.
The 05ers raced into a 2-0 lead and BVB missed a penalty, with Bayern also ahead after eight minutes in their game. Cologne then equalised with nine minutes to go, but super-sub Jamal Musiala popped up in the 89th minute to bend in a winner. Borussia got level in added time of their game but were unable to grab a third to move back above Bayern, who were crowned champions at the death.
2021/22 – Bayern Munich
For the first time ever, Der Klassiker officially decided the outcome of the Bundesliga title as Bayern won 3-1 at home to Dortmund on Matchday 31 to take an unassailable lead in the table.
2020/21 – Bayern Munich
Bayern were on their way to the Allianz Arena to take on Borussia Mönchengladbach when they were confirmed as champions by virtue of RB Leipzig losing 3-2 in Dortmund in the Saturday afternoon games of Matchday 32. The newly crowned champions won their evening match 6-0 to mark the occasion.
2019/20 – Bayern Munich
A Robert Lewandowski goal on a Tuesday night in June at Werder Bremen proved enough to get Hansi Flick’s all-conquering side over the line on Matchday 32 of the covid-interrupted season.
2018/19 – Bayern Munich
Bayern held a two-point lead going into the final day, which they saw over the line under Niko Kovač with relative ease, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1, with Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry both scoring in their final game for the club.
2017/18 – Bayern Munich
A 4-1 win in Augsburg on Matchday 29 gave Jupp Heynckes’ Bavarians an unassailable lead over Schalke.
2016/17 – Bayern Munich
Despite being given a good run for their money by top-flight debutants Leipzig, Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern wrapped up the title with three games to spare thanks to a statement 6-0 win in Wolfsburg at the end of April 2017.
2015/16 – Bayern Munich
Lewandowski scored both goals on the penultimate weekend for a 2-1 win in Ingolstadt that brought Pep Guardiola his third and final Bundesliga crown with Bayern.
Bayern Munich made it four titles in a row with victory in Ingolstadt in 2016. – imago sportfotodienst
2014/15 – Bayern Munich
Bayern moved 15 points clear at the top with a 1-0 win at home to Hertha Berlin on the Saturday evening of Matchday 30. It meant that Wolfsburg’s loss by the same scoreline at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday sparked celebrations at the homes of Bayern players.
2013/14 – Bayern Munich
Bayern secured the earliest title in Bundesliga history in Guardiola’s first season by beating Hertha 3-1 on Matchday 27 to move 25 points clear of Dortmund at the summit after BVB were held by Schalke.
2012/13 – Bayern Munich
The first part of Bayern’s 2013 treble was wrapped up in then record time after only 28 games thanks to a 1-0 win at Frankfurt through Bastian Schweinsteiger’s goal that took them an unassailable 20 points clear of defending champions Dortmund with six matches to play.
2011/12 – Borussia Dortmund
Jürgen Klopp’s side won the first part of their domestic double on Matchday 32 thanks to goals from Ivan Perišić and Shinji Kagawa in a 2-0 victory at home to Gladbach that took BVB eight points above Bayern with two to play.
2010/11– Borussia Dortmund
Lucas Barrios and Lewandowski hit first-half goals in a 2-0 win at home to Nuremberg that, coupled with Leverkusen’s defeat by the same scoreline in Cologne at the same time, brought Klopp’s men their first Bundesliga title on Matchday 32.
2009/10 – Bayern Munich
The title was officially won on the final day thanks to a 3-1 win at Hertha, but in reality Bayern had the Meisterschale in the bag the previous week, given the fact they were three points and 17 goals better off than closest rivals Schalke going into Matchday 34.
2008/09 – Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg’s remarkable sole Bundesliga success, having sat ninth at the halfway stage of the season, was confirmed on the final day as goals from Zvjezdan Misimovic, Grafite and Edin Džeko contributed to a 5-1 win at home to Bremen that kept Felix Magath’s side two points above Bayern in the final standings.
2007/08 – Bayern Munich
A goalless draw in Wolfsburg on Matchday 31 proved enough for Ottmar Hitzfeld’s side, who went 10 points ahead of Bremen with three games to play.
2006/07 – VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart had to come from behind with goals from Thomas Hitzlsperger and Sami Khedira to beat Energie Cottbus 2-1 at home on the final day and stay two points above Schalke, who won by the same scoreline at home to Arminia Bielefeld.
2005/06 – Bayern Munich
A second-half goal from Andreas Ottl got Magath’s Bayern the point they needed in Kaiserslautern on the penultimate weekend, as Hamburg also fell to a 4-2 defeat at Hertha at the same time, to move six points clear with one game to go.
2004/05 – Bayern Munich
Kaiserslautern had also been the site of Bayern’s coronation the previous year, this time a 4-0 win with a Roy Makaay hat-trick doing the job on Matchday 31, as Schalke were held by Leverkusen and slipped 11 points behind with three games to play.
2003/04 – Werder Bremen
One of those rare occasions where Bayern had to watch on as their opponents celebrated the title. Bremen went to Munich on Matchday 32 with a six-point lead over the Bavarians, knowing a win would see them home and hosed. And they made triple sure of things, smashing three unanswered first-half goals through Ivan Klasnic, Johan Micoud and Aílton in a 3-1 victory for Thomas Schaaf’s double winners.
Werder Bremen got their hands on the Meisterschale thanks to a famous win in Munich. – imago/nph
2002/03 – Bayern Munich
South American duo Giovane Élber and Claudio Pizarro scored as Hitzfeld’s side won 2-0 in Wolfsburg on Matchday 30 to go 13 points clear after Stuttgart failed to beat Hansa Rostock.
2001/02 – Borussia Dortmund
It proved a tense finish on the final day as Dortmund had to come from behind at home to Bremen thanks to goals from Jan Koller and Ewerthon. With Leverkusen winning against Hertha, it meant Matthias Sammer’s BVB had to win to keep their one-point advantage at the summit.
2000/01 – Bayern Munich
This was arguably the most dramatic conclusion to a Bundesliga season in history. Bayern went into the final day three points ahead of Schalke but with a worse goal difference. It meant a draw was enough in Hamburg, while the Royal Blues had to beat relegation-battling Unterhaching to have a chance. They did just that, coming from 2-0 down to win a thriller in its own right 5-3.
At the Volksparkstadion, Sergej Barbarez put HSV 1-0 up in the 90th minute. As news filtered through on the radio in Gelsenkirchen, Schalke fans were starting to celebrate their first Bundesliga title.
That was until Stefan Effenberg teed up Patrik Andersson from an indirect free-kick following a back-pass to get Bayern the point they needed in the 94th minute, sparking delight in Munich and despair among Schalke supporters, whose team became known as ‘champions of the heart’ for their gut-wrenching near-miss.
1999/2000 – Bayern Munich
The drama was no less tense 12 months earlier. Leverkusen came into the final day with a three-point lead over Bayern and needing just a draw at Unterhaching, but disaster struck for the team that would become known as the ‘eternal bridesmaids’ when a Michael Ballack own goal set them on course for a 2-0 defeat. Across Munich at the same time, Bayern saw off Bremen 3-1 to claim the title on goal difference with both teams finishing on 73 points.
1998/99 – Bayern Munich
Bayern finished ahead of Leverkusen again this year but made much lighter work of things, wrapping up the title on Matchday 31 with a 1-1 draw at home to Hertha that took them 10 points clear with three games to go.
1997/98 – Kaiserslautern
One of the greatest stories in football history was completed on the penultimate day of the 1997/98 season as Kaiserslautern thrashed Wolfsburg 4-0 at home at the same time as Bayern were held to a goalless draw in Duisburg. It took the Red Devils an unassailable four points clear at the top as Otto Rehhagel’s side became the first promoted team to win the Bundesliga.
1996/97 – Bayern Munich
Having been pegged back at 2-2, Giovanni Trapattoni’s Bayern eventually beat Stuttgart 4-2 on Matchday 33. And with Leverkusen losing 4-0 in Cologne – not the first time defeat at their arch-rivals cost them – the Bavarians moved four points clear to claim the title.
1995/96 – Borussia Dortmund
A 2-2 draw in Munich against 1860 was enough to get Dortmund over the line for their title defence as – in an ironic twist of scheduling – Schalke beat Bayern 2-1 at the same time to hand the Meisterschale to their arch-rivals with a game to spare.
1994/95 – Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund’s first Bundesliga crown was much more dramatic. In the final season before the introduction of three points for a win, they started the last matchday a point behind Bremen. Andreas Möller and Lars Ricken scored early in a 2-0 home win over Hamburg, while Bremen succumbed to a 3-1 loss at Bayern to slip off top spot at BVB’s expense.
Ottmar Hitzfeld guided Borussia Dortmund to their first title of the Bundesliga era. – imago
1993/94 – Bayern Munich
Lothar Matthäus and Jorginho hit second-half goals as Bayern beat Schalke 2-0 on the final day to stay a point above Kaiserslautern, who at least did their bit by winning 3-1 in Hamburg.
1992/93 – Werder Bremen
Werder and Bayern were tied on points going into the final day and with Die Grünweißen only a goal better off. However, the Bavarians stumbled to a 3-3 draw at Schalke while Bremen romped to a 3-0 win in Stuttgart to claim the Meisterschale by a point.
1991/92 – VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart came out on top after a dramatic 38th matchday in an expanded Bundesliga season with 20 teams following German reunification. They trailed Frankfurt on goal difference going into the final week, with Dortmund a few goals further behind in a three-way tie at the summit.
Dortmund were in pole position for most of the afternoon after going 1-0 up early on at Duisburg, which is how that game finished. Stuttgart were being held 1-1 in Leverkusen and Frankfurt by the same score at Hansa Rostock. But then VfB went ahead in the 88th minute through Guido Buchwald. Moments later, Eintracht fell behind and would ultimately slip to third as Stuttgart got their hands on the Meisterschale on goal difference above Dortmund.
Christoph Daum led Stuttgart to Bundesliga glory in dramatic fashion. – Pressefoto Rudel/Herbert Rudel via www.imago-images.de
1990/91 – Kaiserslautern
A 6-2 win at Cologne on the final day of the season was the icing on the cake of Kaiserslautern’s first Bundesliga title, finishing three points above Bayern after the defending champions were held to a 2-2 draw by Bayer Uerdingen.
1989/90 – Bayern Munich
Bayern had room to spare in 1990 when a 1-0 win at home to St. Pauli on a midweek Matchday 32 kept them five points ahead of Cologne with only four more points available over the final two weekends.
1988/89 – Bayern Munich
Bayern had beaten Uerdingen 5-0 on the Saturday of Matchday 32 but had to wait until the following Tuesday for Cologne to play their game at Stuttgarter Kickers, which ended goalless and left the Bavarians celebrating the title at home with a five-point lead going into the last two games.
1987/88 – Werder Bremen
Karl-Heinz Riedle hit the decisive goal for 10-man Bremen in Frankfurt as Rehhagel’s men wrapped up the title with three games to spare ahead of Bayern.
1986/87 – Bayern Munich
A 2-2 draw at home to Uerdingen on Matchday 32 was enough to get Bayern over the line ahead of HSV, who were held to a 3-3 draw in Nuremberg at the same time and failed to close the six-point gap.
1985/86 – Bayern Munich
Another final-day snatch-and-grab by Bayern saw them pip Bremen to the title on goal difference after Werder lost 2-1 in Stuttgart and the Munich men put six unanswered goals past Gladbach at home. The final difference was nine goals after Bayern leapfrogged Bremen at the death.
Bayern snatched the title on the final day in 1986. – imago/WEREK
1984/85 – Bayern Munich
Bayern had come out ahead of Werder again the previous year, but in less dramatic circumstances on the final day. Udo Lattek’s side held a two-point lead and won 1-0 at Eintracht Braunschweig thanks to a Dieter Hoeneß strike. Bremen lost 2-0 in Dortmund to ultimately finish four points short.
1983/84 – VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart suffered one of the sweetest defeats in history at the hands of Hamburg. The latter, Bundesliga and European Cup holders, came into the final day two points behind VfB and needed to win by at least five goals to overturn their inferior goal difference. But Jürgen Milewski’s solitary strike in Stuttgart wasn’t enough, as Helmut Benthaus’s VfB held on for their first Bundesliga crown.
1982/83 – Hamburg
Goal difference had benefited HSV the previous year as they finished eight goals better off than northern rivals Bremen after both teams ended on 52 points. Horst Hrubesch and Wolfgang Rolff earned Hamburg a 2-1 win at Schalke on the final day, with Bremen winning 3-2 at home to Bochum.
1981/82 – Hamburg
The drama wasn’t as intense the previous year, although things did go down to the final day. But HSV held a two-point lead and were 15 goals better off than Cologne, making the title outcome a forgone conclusion. Ernst Happel’s side saw it out with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Karlsruhe, having led 3-0 in the first 30 minutes, while the Billy Goats went down 4-3 at home to Kaiserslautern to eventually finish three points behind the new champions.
Hamburg’s golden era included back-to-back Bundesliga title in 1982 and 1983. – imago sportfotodienst via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Sven Simon
1980/81 – Bayern Munich
After such an intense rivalry in the previous decade, Bayern will have felt extra joy at the fact that a 4-1 win in Gladbach saw them crowned with a game to spare, moving four points above HSV after they were held by 1860 in Munich.
1979/80 – Bayern Munich
In an outcome that could’ve come down to goal difference, HSV put four past Schalke on the final day but did so in vain as a Paul Breitner penalty and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s 26th goal of the campaign steered Bayern to a 2-1 win over already relegated Braunschweig to finish two points clear of the defending champions at the summit.
1978/79 – Hamburg
Branko Zebec masterminded HSV’s first Bundesliga title, which they secured with a game to spare thanks to a goalless draw at Arminia Bielefeld, coupled with Stuttgart’s surprising 4-1 loss at home to deposed champions Cologne.
1977/78 – Cologne
Cologne’s second and so far most recent Meisterschale was secured on a day of history in the Bundesliga. The Billy Goats were level on points but 10 goals better off than arch-rivals and defending champions Gladbach going into the final day.
Normally, you would say a simple win would be enough, but Borussia then smashed 12 past Dortmund – the largest win in Bundesliga history – to pile the pressure on Cologne, who responded in turn with a 5-0 victory of their own at St. Pauli to claim the Meisterschale by three goals at the end of a crazy afternoon on 29 April 1978.
Cologne won the Bundesliga as part of a domestic double on a crazy final day of 1977/78. – imago/Frinke
1976/77 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach made it a hat-trick of titles with a 2-2 draw at long-standing rivals Bayern on the final day of the season. The Foals went two goals up inside the first 22 minutes in Munich. A 90th-minute own goal from Hans-Jürgen Wittkamp to level the game still proved enough for Borussia to finish a point above Schalke, who had won 4-2 at home to their own arch-rivals Dortmund.
1975/76 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
A draw was also enough for Gladbach the previous year, this time a 1-1 tie at Kickers Offenbach on the penultimate matchday thanks to Allan Simonsen’s late leveller, to put Lattek’s side out of reach of HSV at four points, despite their 1-0 win at Uerdingen.
1974/75 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach reclaimed the Meisterschale off European Cup holders Bayern, who finished this season down in 10th place, with time to spare. They were officially confirmed as champions on Matchday 33 thanks to a 2-0 win at home to Braunschweig, although they were basically there already, given their four-point and 24-goal advantage over Hertha going into the final two games.
Borussia Mönchengladbach won a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles in the 1970s. – imago sportfotodienst/imago/WEREK
1973/74 – Bayern Munich
Bayern became the first team to win the Bundesliga three years in a row when Gerd Müller’s goal earned them a 1-0 win at home to Offenbach at the same time as Gladbach lost by the same scoreline at neighbours Fortuna Düsseldorf on the penultimate matchday, with the gap then three points.
1972/73 – Bayern Munich
Bayern secured what would be the earliest title for several decades thanks to a 6-0 thrashing of Kaiserslautern, including a four-goal salvo from Müller, on Matchday 30 that kept them 10 points above Cologne with only four games left to play.
1971/72 – Bayern Munich
The Bavarians’ second Bundesliga title was earned in a straight shootout with Schalke on the final day on a Wednesday night in late June. They came into the winner-takes-all game in Munich a point ahead of their opponents but made light work of the Royal Blues, including a Franz Beckenbauer free-kick as the icing on the cake with the fifth in a 5-1 win as Bayern also set the single-season scoring record of 101 goals.
Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier and Franz Beckenbauer (l-r.) formed the backbone of Bayern’s first golden era. – imago/Sven Simon
1970/71 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach became the first team to successfully defend their Bundesliga title by leapfrogging Bayern, who had only led by goal difference, on the final day. Günter Netzer and Heynckes were among the scorers in a 4-1 win at Frankfurt, while the Bavarians slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Duisburg to drop down to second place in this burgeoning rivalry.
1969/70 – Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia’s first league crown was secured on the penultimate matchday as they beat HSV 4-3 at home – having led comfortably at 4-0 early in the second half – on a Thursday night in April. It meant Bayern’s 6-2 win over Rot-Weiß Oberhausen was for nothing, as they were unable to close the three-point gap going into the final round.
1968/69 – Bayern Munich
Bayern’s first Bundesliga title and second championship was in the bag with two games to spare, Müller hitting a hat-trick in a 5-1 win over Offenbach on Matchday 32. In reality, though, they’d been assured of the Meisterschale the previous round, given their six-point lead and vastly superior goal ratio (not goal difference in those days).
1967/68 – Nuremberg
Before Bayern’s later dominance, Nuremberg had held the honour of being Germany’s record champions and got their first (and only) Bundesliga crown by virtue of beating their fellow Bavarians 2-0 in Munich on the penultimate matchday. It kept Max Merkel’s side three points above Bremen with a game to spare.
1966/67 – Eintracht Braunschweig
Nuremberg had watched title celebrations from the other side the previous year as they were beaten 4-1 at Braunschweig, who wrote one of the more unlikely Bundesliga success stories with their crowning glory on the final day of the season. Eintracht finished two points above defending champions 1860 Munich.
1965/66 – 1860 Munich
Indeed, it was 1860 who became Munich’s first Bundesliga winners – in the season Bayern had come up to the division – as a 1-1 draw for Merkel’s Löwen against Hamburg proved enough, with Dortmund beaten 4-1 in Frankfurt on the final day as the gap finished at three points.
1964/65 – Werder Bremen
A point separated Bremen from holders Cologne going into the 30th and then final matchday of the Bundesliga’s second 16-team season. Werder edged to a 3-2 win in Nuremberg, while Dortmund helped make things more comfortable by holding the Billy Goats to a 2-2 draw.
1963/64 – Cologne
Cologne had somewhat romped to the Bundesliga’s maiden title, wrapping it up with two games to spare in the 30-match campaign by thrashing Dortmund 5-2 at home, opening a seven-point lead over Meiderich (now Duisburg).
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