Bundesliga – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

MANCHESTER CITY won their fourth consecutive Premier League title, beating West Ham united 3-1 on the final day of the season. They went into the last game two points clear of Arsenal, who were at home to Everton. But it took just two minutes for City to open the scoring through Phil Foden and there was never any doubt from that point that they would end the day as champions. They went 2-0 ahead on 18 minutes with another Foden effort, but Mohammed Kudus netted a truly spectacular overhead kick for West Ham three minutes from the break. Arsenal, meanwhile, went 1-0 down in the 40^th minute at the Emirates when a free kick from Idrissa Gueye was deflected past David Raya. Three minutes later, Takehiro Tomiyasu levelled for the Gunners. City restored their two-goal advantage in the 59^th minute through Rodri and that was enough to give them their 3-1 victory. Arsenal clinched victory in the 89^thminute through Kai Havertz, but the title had been won by Pep Guardiola’s side. In the battle for European places, Tottenham won 1-0 against Sheffield United to secure a Europa League berth, while Chelsea’s 2-1 win at home to Bournemouth will give them Europa or Conference League football next season.

BRIGHTON coach Roberto De Zerbi left his role with the club after their 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Manchester United. Brighton fans gave him a good send-off, chanting “we want you to stay”, but the past few months have seen a definite change in the Italian’s body language. De Zerbi took Brighton to sixth place in 2022-23 and into Europe for the first time. But this year, the team has struggled to maintain momentum and has also lost some key figures. There has also been unsettling talk of De Zerbi being a contender for some major jobs, such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus.

JUVENTUS may have won the Coppa Italia, but they are ending the season without coach Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked after the final. Allegri, who has had a difficult 2023-24, raged at directors, the referee and journalists, as well as the club’s sporting director. Juventus said his behaviour was unacceptable by the club’s standards and dismissed him with a year remaining on his contract. It was widely expected that Allegri would leave Juventus this summer as his popularity had plummeted. His temporary replacement until the end of the campaign is Paolo Montero.

BAYER Leverkusen ended their Bundesliga programme with a 2-1 win against Augsburg and became the first German team to finish a season unbeaten. Their goals came from Victor Boniface and Robert Andrich. Bayern Munich, without the injured Harry Kane, lost 4-2 to Hoffenheim after going 2-0 up in the first eight minutes. This pushed Bayern into third place, allowing Stuttgart – 4-0 winners against Mönchengladbach – to take the runners-up spot. Champions League finalists, Borussia Dortmund, won 4-0 against relegated Darmstadt.

OXFORD United have won promotion to the Championship after beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 at Wembley in front of 70,000 people. Oxford’s two goals came from Josh Murphy in the first half, both created by Ruben Rodrigues. Oxford have not been in English football’s second tier for 25 years. They went into the play-off final as underdogs at Bolton had beaten them 5-0 in March. Oxford coach Des Buckingham commented: “To see what I’ve just seen, I haven’t got words for it. With the football we’ve just played there, I thought we were excellent today. I am so proud of lead this team and I’m so proud of the players and what they’ve just shown Oxford United to be.”

REJOICE! The UEFA Champions League final has produced a major surprise in Borussia Dortmund confounding the experts by beating one of the wealthiest teams in the world to reach the June 1 final at Wembley. A team valued at over € 1 billion was beaten not once, but twice, by a German side that is worth half as much. The narrative was supposed to be all about Kylian Mbappé leaving Paris Saint-Germain with the Champions League trophy in his back pocket, but it was destroyed by an old fashioned rearguard action, marshalled by Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck, and a classic two-leg “job”.

There will be those that are mildly disappointed the final will not be a clash of elitists, the oh too predictable climax to a European campaign, but football needs the occasional fairy tale to remind us how life used to be before wealth made football into a game of monopoly. Dortmund have been there before and were winners in 1997 when they beat favourites Juventus, so they have always been seen as a “plus one” when it comes to the final. In 2013 it was the same, when Jürgen Klopp’s team were beaten in the dying minutes by Bayern Munich and Arjen Robben. They may yet get the chance to avenge that defeat, which was also at Wembley.

Dortmund, while undoubtedly one of Europe’s top clubs, may not in the elite category, but they are effectively in that first dozen. This is a club that has become one of the nurseries for the elite, notably in recent years by selling Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham to Manchester City and Real Madrid respectively. They can count on over 80,000 people at their stadium every home game and time and time again, Dortmund have proved the model of attracting talent, developing it and making a nice turn when selling can yield success. Their player recruitment strategy is as industrious as the Ruhr, the region the club represents. Dortmund is also a club that gives coaches the experience they need to climb the ladder in their own careers. Marco Rose (Leipzig), Peter Bosz (PSV Eindhoven), Thomas Tuchel (Bayern) and of course, Jürgen Klopp (Liverpool) are all past employees of BVB.

Against Paris Saint-Germain, they were – let’s be brutally honest – a little fortunate at times. The French side struck the woodwork as if they were competing in a crossbar challenge, but Dortmund enjoyed the best of luck. Anxious PSG may have been, but Dortmund also produced a magnificent defensive performance built around a totemic group of centre backs that stymied the Parisiens. And what of Mbappé? He was made to look anonymous for much of the game by Dortmund’s determined and stubborn players. He was supposed to be the man who could inspire victory but he seemed riding alone and Dortmund simply had to nullify the threat to gain the upper hand.

In Germany this season, Bayer Leverkusen have been stealing the headlines, and rightly so, and the general feeling is that Dortmund have not had a great time in the Bundesliga. That may be a little unkind as they have lost just half a dozen league games, although people are benchmarking BVB against 2022-23 when they were cruelly denied the title on the final day of the season. In 2023-24, they have drawn twice with unbeaten champions Leverkusen and they won 2-0 at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena. They have, without doubt, lacked the consistency needed to be challenging at the top, but they have saved their best for the Champions League. They played PSG four times, twice in the group stage but it wasn’t until the semi-final that they actually beat them. In the knockout phase, they also beat Dutch champions-elect PSV Eindhoven and came back from 2-1 down to beat Atlético Madrid 4-2 in the second leg of the quarter-finals. They’ve shown character all the way through the competition.

Whoever they face in the final, they will be underdogs, but that hasn’t worried Edin Terzić’s team so far. The BVB coach said victory over PSG was “surreal”, creating a “beautiful evening for the club”. Whatever happens on June 1, the 2023-24 European campaign will not be easily forgotten.