Borussia Dortmund Capture Second Consecutive Bundesliga Title

For the second consecutive season, Borussia Dortmund are the champions of Germany. A 2-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday clinched the title and set off celebrations at the Westfalenstadion, but the title was really won 10 days ago when BVB defeated Bayern Munich. That win over Bayern put Dortmund out of reach of their pursuers and on their way to another Bundesliga title, a title they made official on Saturday.

This season’s title was not as easy as last season’s. When they topped the Bundesliga last season, they did it as an underdog, somewhat coming out of nowhere and making stars of players like Mario Götze, Neven Subotić and Shinji Kagawa in the process.

This season, they lost one of their great players, Nuri Sahin, to Real Madrid. They also dealt with a rash of injuries, a slow start and the Champions League, but they kept ticking. İlkay Gündoğan stepped forward to replace Sahin, they found others to replace the injured and while their poor Champions League showing was a disappointment, they will get another crack at the competition next season. Despite far more adversity, they still stand as the best Germany has to offer.

What the season came down to was their match against Bayern 10 days ago. The Bavarians were hot on BVB’s heels and had Bayern won at the Westfalenstadion, they would have moved joint top of the league. Instead, Dortmund battered them for long stretches and finally in the 77th minute, it paid off. Robert Lewandowski struck what would prove to be the winner and six points up with four matches to go, the title was within Dortmund’s reach.

On Saturday, Dortmund finally grabbed that trophy. Knowing that a win would win them their second consecutive title with two rounds to spare, Jurgen Klopps’ side came flying out of the gates. Ivan Perišić struck in the 23rd minute to give them a lead, then at the hour mark, Kagawa put a bow on things. The midfielder put BVB two up, sending the Westfalenstadion into raptures as the Bundesliga title found its home in Dortmund once again.