In a week where Borussia Dortmund crashed out of the Champions League, so too did their aspirations to challenge Bayern Munich for the title. Whilst the title seems inevitably to be on its way to Bavaria once again, there were plenty of shocks and wins down the bottom of the table as the rest of the league jostle for European places as well as Bundesliga safety. Here is everything you need to know from matchday 24 in the Bundesliga.
A Harry Kane brace and a late Joshua Kimmich stunner ensured that Bayern Munich secured all three points in Der Klassiker as they ran out 2-3 winners away to Borussia Dortmund.
The first half truly belong to BVB, who went into the break 1-0 up thanks to a Nico Schlotterbeck header. Dortmund dominated the first period and had plenty of opportunities to increase their lead before the break. Ultimately, they would be made to regret their chances.
A Harry Kane brace in the second (a tap-in from a well-worked move and a penalty) put Bayern in the lead, going into the closing stages of the game. Kane’s penalty meant he has now scored 10 penalties in a Bundesliga season, a record that has not been broken in 45 years and was held by Gerd Müller. What’s more, Kane’s now just 11 goals away from Robert Lewandowski’s record of most goals in a Bundesliga season (41). Kane has ten games to beat the record.
A Daniel Svensson volley seven minutes from time looked to have rescued a point for BVB. But it wasn’t to be – minutes later, Joshua Kimmich’s volley made it 3-2 to win the game for Bayern.
The win means that the Bavarians’ lead at the top of the table has been extended to 11 points. The title race, if it even existed, is dead.
However, from a performance point of view, Dortmund will probably feel that they did not deserve to lose this, and they at least deserved a point, especially when you consider the reaction between when Bayern took the lead compared to Atalanta in midweek. To add insult to injury, Emre Can was taken off injured before half-time. It’s now been confirmed that the defender has torn his ACL within his knee – the 32-year-old will be missing for the remainder of the season.
Having scored the winner for Bayern, Kimmich went in front of the media at full-time to declare his side winners of the 2025/26 Bundesliga.
“Congratulations to us. We won’t relinquish [our lead]. We won’t let it slip. It will remain that way. It was a tough game, and we struggled for a time. At halftime, we knew that it would be difficult for Dortmund to keep up the pace. They’ve had a tough last few weeks with lots of games.”
Werder Bremen head coach Daniel Thioune took the opportunity to express gratitude and optimism following yesterday’s vital Bundesliga win. Bremen were able to snap a woeful 13-match winless run with an immensely important 2-0 home victory over relegation rivals Heidenheim. The extent of Bremen’s suffering can be adequately conveyed by the fact that the horrendous form stretch dated all the way back to November 2025.
The victory moves Bremen into the relegation play-off place, whilst VfL Wolfsburg drop into the bottom two having lost 4-0 to VfB Stuttgart on Sunday afternoon. The once Bundesliga champions now find themselves in 17th position with just one win from their last ten Bundesliga matches.
What’s more, Wolfsburg’s run-in does not get any easier. The Wolves still have to play the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Bayern Munich before the end of the season.
Wolfsburg will meet Werder Bremen in a couple of weeks’ time, whilst they also face 15th-place St. Pauli on the final day.
It really was the weekend of the underdog as St. Pauli stunned 3rd place TSG Hoffenheim 0-1 away from home. The win not only puts St. Pauli outside of the relegation places, but it also means they’ve won back-to-back Bundesliga matches for the first time since September.
Understandably enough, St. Pauli’s Mathias Pereira Lage was ecstatic about finding the perfect moment to score his first Bundesliga goal.
“I’ve worked very hard and waited a long time for this goal,” Pereira Lage noted in the mixed zone. “80 percent of the goal [still] belongs to Manos. I ran into the path of his cross because I know how good his crosses are.“
The Greek winger, Manos Saliakas, has had to fight for minimal playing time this season, but is already repaying head coach Alexander Blessin for his vote of confidence.
After spending seven straight matches unused on the bench, Saliakas has started six straight league fixtures, scored a vital goal in matchday 21’s upset win over Stuttgart, and collected a total of three assists during his current form surge. An excellent through ball set up Fujita’s goal last week. On Pereira Lage’s goal, Saliakas made it easy for the goal-scorer with a lovely one-touch cross in.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Mainz 05 held Bayer Leverkusen to a draw. Urs Fischer’s side now look like they’re going to comfortably stay up. Since arriving at the turn of the year, the Swiss head coach has drastically improved the 05ers, who looked destined to go down. B04 stay 6th and six points off Stuttgart, who are 4th. A reminder that 5th place may be good enough for Champions League football next term.
There were also wins for FC Augsburg (2-0 vs FC Köln), Borussia Mönchengladbach (1-0 vs Union Berlin), Eintracht Frankfurt (2-0 vs SC Freiburg), and RB Leipzig (2-1 vs Hamburger SV).
