After 306 matches, 982 goals, and the longest season in memory, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2019-20 Bundesliga season is finally over. There were a lot of surprises and plenty of drama during the season, but in the end, the most predictable of things happened: Bayern Munich won the league with Borussia Dortmund running them close before eventually falling short. Both teams scored freely, especially in the second half of the season, with Bayern hitting 100 league goals for only the second time in their history and Dortmund setting a new club record with 84 goals of their own. Robert Lewandowski scored more than a third of Bayern's goals, and had he not missed three games, maybe he could have equalled Gerd Muller's all-time record. Instead, he finished on 34 Bundesliga goals - his best-ever return. Timo Werner finished behind Lewandowski in the top scorer race, but his time in the Bundesliga is no more as he has agreed to join Chelsea on July 1st - meaning he won't play any part in RB Leipzig's remaining Champions League games. Despite only joining in January, Erling Haaland finished sixth in the top scorer race and will be one of the world's best strikers for many years to come. Borussia Dortmund team-mate Jadon Sancho could follow Werner to the Premier League, but BVB are doing everything they can to keep him in Germany and it will take a lot of money to snatch him away - perhaps more than any club may be prepared to spend this summer. Kai Havertz turned 21 during the extended season, but is also in demand across Europe, with Bayer Leverkusen conscious that they will lose him to a bigger team sooner or later. Who that will be, remains to be seen as Bayern Munich, Spain's big two, and all England's top teams have been linked. Borussia Mönchengladbach will join Bayern, Dortmund, and Leipzig in next season's Champions League, pipping Leverkusen on the final day. They were guided by Marco Rose, a new coach in the Bundesliga, who had two of the league's breakout stars at his disposal in Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea. A lot of other new stars were born in 2019-20. Gio Reyna became the latest US sensation in the Bundesliga. Florian Wirtz is already being called the new Havertz, because he's a prodigy at Leverkusen, while Ismail Jakobs is destined for bigger things than Köln. The league's biggest new sensation, however, was Alphonso Davies, who finished with the Rookie of the Year award, a trophy whose name would not sound out of place in his home, Canada. He also stunned Chelsea in Europe to leave Bayern Munich in the driving seat for the Champions League. Leverkusen, Hoffenheim, and Wolfsburg will all play in the Europa League next season, with Eintracht Frankfurt missing out, while Freiburg were well-coached all season by Christian Streich and should also count themselves unlucky. Schalke started well under David Wagner, but lost their way in the second-half of the season, especially after injuries to Ozan Kabak and Suat Serdar. Union Berlin's fans showed exactly why they are spoken so highly of with entertaining displays all season until fans were forbidden from going to games when Covid-19 hit. Werder Bremen completed an amazing fight on the last day of the domestic season to avoid automatic relegation and make Fortuna Düsseldorf join Paderborn in the 2. Bundesliga next season, but still face a play-off against Heidenheim to stay in the top-flight. Although Bayern Munich won once again, overall it was excellent season for the Bundesliga - but may even turn out to be a better one if German clubs can win in Europe, especially as the Europa League mini-tournament comes to the country in August!
Ronan Murphy
@swearimnotpaul