Dortmund’s Title Dreams in Tatters After ‘Brutal’ Home Draw to Mainz

Date: 28 May 2023 - 23:03

News ID: ۱۱۵۵۳۸

DORTMUND (Reuters) - Borussia Dortmund’s dream of its first Bundesliga title in 11 years turned into a nightmare on Saturday after a shock 2-2 home draw to Mainz 05 dropped the club to second place on goal difference in the season finale, handed the title to rivals Bayern Munich.
Dortmund had ordered more than 120,000 liters of beer according to club bosses but in the end there was nothing to celebrate for fans, players or coaching staff in one of the most bitter season endings for the Ruhr valley club.
“Congratulations to Bayern because this is the most honest title, being top after 34 matches,” a teary-eyed coach Edin Terzic said. “Forgive me because it is not easy to give an analysis today but I think that not only the team, but the stadium and the city believed it.
The visitors stunned Mainz snatching the lead through Andreas Hanche-Olsen’s header at the near post in the 15th minute.
Dortmund’s Sebastien Haller had a golden chance to level and lift some of the mounting the pressure on his team just four minutes later but he saw his weak penalty saved.
It got even worse in the 24th when Karim Onisiwo was left with far too much space in the box to drill in his header, shocking the hosts and silencing the stadium.
A second half attempted comeback did not yield immediate results, even as coach Edin Terzic brought in captain Marco Reus and striker Karim Adeyemi.