Bundesliga Roundup: Borussia Dortmund close in on top four rivals, Mainz 05 stun Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich missed the chance to wrap up their ninth successive Bundesliga title, while Borussia Dortmund gave their hopes of finishing in the top four a major boost on Matchday 31 of the Bundesliga season.

Borussia Dortmund needed a win against Wolfsburg to have any chance of finishing in the Bundesliga top four. And they managed to get the all-important three points courtesy of an Erling Haaland brace. Wolfsburg dominated possession, but the Black and Yellows defended with great resolve and made sure that they held on for the win despite Jude Bellingham’s sending off.

Borussia Dortmund’s top four hopes received another massive boost thanks to Bayer Leverkusen’s 3-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. The result means that the Black and Yellows are now only a point shy of fourth place with three games to go in the season.

Bayern Munich must wait to be confirmed as the Bundesliga champions after they fell to a 2-1 defeat away to Mainz 05 on Saturday. Goals from Jonathan Burkardt and Robin Quaison gave the resurgent 05ers a 2-0 lead in the first half. The returning Robert Lewandowski pulled a goal back late on, but it wasn’t enough to seal a comeback win.

Mainz’ win helped them climb up to 12th place in the Bundesliga standings. After a dismal first half of the season, Bo Svensson’s side now look set to avoid relegation with ease.

While Mainz are on the up, Werder Bremen are heading sinking fast. Florian Kohfeldt’s side suffered their seventh successive defeat on Saturday, as they were beaten 3-1 by Union Berlin. Joel Pohjanpalo scored a hat-trick for the Berliners, leaving Bremen just a point clear of FC Köln, who currently occupy 16th place.

Speaking of FC Köln, the Billy Goats earned a 3-2 win over Augsburg to boost their chances of avoiding relegation. Ondrej Duda scored a brace to lift Köln up to 16th place in the standings, although 17th placed Hertha Berlin do have three games in hand on them. Hertha Berlin’s game against Schalke 04 was postponed, with Pal Dardai’s team still in quarantine after multiple positive COVID-19 tests at the club.

RB Leipzig all but confirmed their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League with a 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart. Julian Nagelsmann’s side now hold a nine point lead over Borussia Dortmund, and also have a better goal difference.

Borussia Mönchengladbach cruised to a 5-0 win over Arminia Bielefeld, and Breel Embolo led the way by scoring a brace. While SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim played out a 1-1 draw, with Vincenzo Grifo canceling out Andrej Kramaric’s first half opener.