Christian Pulisic played his final match for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. The 20-year-old American will join Chelsea after agreeing to a deal in January that included loaning the winger back to the Bundesliga. Pulisic provided a neat assist to help Dortmund win, but Die Schwarzgelben fell just short in their quest to dethrone Bayern Munich.
Instead, the day belonged to two other players on their way out: Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben.
Ribery and Robben, once the most feared winger duo in the world, both came off the bench to score in their final Bayern Munich appearances. Ribery’s goal in particular was marvelous as Bayern defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 to clinch a seventh straight Bundesliga crown on Saturday. The result rendered Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach meaningless to end a tight title race.
7 IN A ROW!
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) May 18, 2019
Bayern finished two points ahead of Dortmund on 78 points, the fewest points by a champion since BVB won it with 75 points in 2011.
Coming into the day, Dortmund needed to beat Monchengladbach and hope Bayern lost to Eintracht.
Almost immediately, Bayern took a lead against Eintracht through Kingsley Coman, and the likely outcome of another Bayern title looked even more likely less than five minutes in.
Dortmund would take the lead just before halftime to put a little pressure on Bayern when Jadon Sancho was the recipient of a cross from Marco Reus, who just barely saved the ball from going out of bounds.
Dortmund fans then began to believe they might actually pull off the unthinkable when Eintracht equalized through Sébastian Haller five minutes after halftime. It was a real crap goal, but they all count the same.
However, Bayern immediately responded, retaking the lead three minutes later through David Alaba.
Moments later, Dortmund added to its lead, Pulisic saying farewell to the Bundesliga with a tidy assist to Marco Reus.
The American easily could have gone for goal himself, but was unselfish and it paid off with a goal.
It was a great way for Pulisic to end his career in the Bundesliga, even if it wasn't quite enough to secure a Bundesliga crown.
@Schmelle29
@cpulisic_10 pic.twitter.com/tu56GcABt9— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) May 18, 2019
Despite the goal for BVB, Renato Sanches put Bayern up 3-1 in the 58th minute with a deflected goal from a tight angle and it was apparent the reigning champs would reign yet again.
After that, it was all about Robberry.
Ribery and then Robben came on as second half subs. Both are on their way out at Bayern after long, trophy laden careers with the German giants, including the 2013 Champions League.
Ribery showed he’s still got some magic left in his 36-year-old legs with an impressive solo goal in the 72nd minute, dribbling past two defenders before dinking a shot by the keeper. The Frenchman had no problems taking off his shirt in celebration, even hugging the referee who showed him the requisite yellow card.
Six minutes later, Robben joined in on the fun.
Robben’s strike, his 99th for Bayern in the Bundesliga, wasn’t a classic left-footed blast from the edge of the 18, but an assured finish from close range that counts just the same.
It was a rousing send-off for two legendary figures in Munich in a wild day across the Bundesliga.
Some of the other scores around the league included two other 5-1 results and Wolfsburg beating Augsburg 8-1.
Bowing out in style
2018/19, it's been a pleasure #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/0t42u26ol7— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) May 18, 2019
When the dust settled, Bayern was on top followed by Dortmund and Tyler Adams’ RB Leipzig in third. Bayern Leverkusen claimed the final Champions League berth in fourth while Monchengladbach and Wolfsburg settled for Europa League spots. Eintracht, a Europa League semifinalist this season, began the day in fourth but fell all the way to seventh and out of Europe with the heavy defeat to Bayern.
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