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Bayern Munich picked up a fourth Bundesliga title in a row despite pressure throughout the season from Thomas Tuchel’s Borussia Dortmund. BVB finished the campaign with 78 points – three points more than the previous time Dortmund actually won the league.
While the battle for top spot went until the second last day of the season, third placed Bayer Leverkusen were never in the running to challenge Bayern. They finished 28 points shy of top spot, with Borussia Monchengladbach another five points further back.
Less than 10 years after winning the German title, Stuttgart suffered the ignominy of relegation to the 2 Bundesliga, winning just nine games all season. Hannover 96 also fell out of the top flight, with Eintracht Frankfurt only staying up thanks to a 2-1 aggregate win over Nurnberg in the playoff.
CHANGES
Dortmund began life after Jurgen Klopp by appointing former Mainz head coach Thomas Tuchel, who had been out of contract since the previous May. The new boss began life at Westfalenstadion by reshaping the midfield, bringing in Gonzalo Castro and Julian Weigl from Bayer Leverkusen and 1860 Munich respectively. Roman Burki was signed for €3.5 million and took over the majority of goalkeeping duties from Roman Weidenfeller.
Pep Guardiola strengthened his Bundesliga holders by spending €37m on Arturo Vidal from Juventus and €30m on Shakhtar Donetsk’s Douglas Costa, with speedy French winger Kingsley Coman joining on a loan-to-buy deal from Juve as well. Guardiola also raided Stuttgart for two of their key players, adding Sven Ulreich as a backup for Manuel Neuer and signing Joshua Kimmich as a versatile squad option.
Some of Bayern’s older players left the club in a large clearout, with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Pepe Reina, and Claudio Pizarro among the exodus. Thomas Muller, Thiago, and Manuel Neuer received new contracts, while David Alaba and Jerome Boateng were also given extensions.
Wolfsburg lost Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City for €75m,…
Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/dortmund-challenge-not-enough-to-unseat-bayern-munich-the-bundesliga-in-2015-16/117
Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-08-03 15:00:00
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