Bayern Make It Seven In A Row

But Dortmund push them all the way.

- Nick Bidwell

For the seventh consecutive season, Bayern Munich was the first vehicle across the Bundesliga finishing line, albeit with the odd puncture and mechanical breakdown en route.

By Bayern’s stringent standards, it was a distinctly sub-par campaign. More often than not, the football they produced was gritty and functional rather than eye-catching, and in a two-month period last autumn the Bavarians were very poor, losing to Hertha Berlin, Borussia Monchengladbach and arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund, and carelessly dropping points in drawn home games with Freiburg and Fortuna Dusseldorf.

As the winter winds kicked in, Bayern’s chances of another title were registering below zero. While Dortmund was sweeping all before them, down south in Munich the overwhelming impression was that of a club going nowhere. In late November they were placed as low as fifth and by mid- December they trailed leaders Dortmund by a whopping nine points.

Little wonder coach Niko Kovac was coming under such heavy fire in the media. His team was failing in more or less every category, their attacking play was disjointed and ponderous, defensively they were all at sea and, most unusually for a Bayern side, their self-assured swagger had disappeared.