Borussia Dortmund saw their faltering Bundesliga title hopes totally vanish after Bayern Munich beat them 3-2 on Saturday as Joshua Kimmich struck the winner for the holders just three minutes from extra-time.
With an eight-point gap between the eternal rivals coming into the fixture, the BVB knew they had to win this one by hook or by crook to stay alive in the race. In the first half, it seemed like they could indeed pull it off.
Nico Schlotterbeck's 26th-minute opener had them 1-0 up at the break as Bayern were surprisingly kept out. But then, the most predictable thing happened. Harry Kane equalized for the visitors shortly into the restart.
He then put them 2-1 up from the penalty spot a while later but Daniel Svensson made it 2-2 for Dortmund in the 83rd minute as the match was supposedly headed for a share of the spoils.
But we've seen on many occasions before, the Black and Yellows failed to close out their defense late on and Kimmich struck a deft volley beyond Gregor Kobel to win it for Bayern, who completed the league double over Dortmund and effectively ended their title bid.
Dortmund's haphazard approach fails
This was by far the most chaotic, disorganized and haphazard play from Dortmund in a while. It seemed like their agenda was to disrupt Bayern with reckless challenges and attempt to water down the intensity of the match.
One good example of this is Schlotterbeck nearly taking out Josip Stanisic's ankle. Although it led to a penalty which Kane dispatched to put Bayern ahead, the ploy appeared to work in the opening stanza as Bayern were kept goalless.
BVB fail to close out the game, again
On how many occasions this season have we seen Dortmund leading or drawing in a game only to then concede a late goal and drop points? Let me help you - five times, with this game being the fifth.
Daniel Svensson had only seemed to have snatched a point for Dortmund that Joshua Kimmich then pops up with a winner for Bayern. How predictable of Dortmund games now!
We saw this in their opening game to St. Pauli wherein Dortmund relinquished a 3-1 lead in the dying embers to draw 3-3, in the 1-1 draw to Hamburger, who equalized in the 97th minute, or in the 3-3 stalemate with Stuttgart with Deniz Undav netting in stoppage-time.
It's all over for Dortmund
With the DFB Pokal and Champions League already gone, the Bundesliga title hopes are also now over for Dortmund, who trail Bayern by 11 points following last night's defeat.
Only 10 games left into the campaign and it's hard to see them close the gap hereon as the Bavarians are unlikely to blow such a healthy lead.
Dortmund's only objective for the rest of their campaign will be to finish inside the top four places of the league and secure their place in the Champions League.