The Daily Bee (May 6th, 2019): Matchday 32 - BVB title chances all but gone

• Matchday 32

Just two matchdays remain but the season might as well be over for Borussia Dortmund. The black and yellows blew a two goal lead against Werder Bremen and with it virtually all chances to win the title. Bayern now have a 4-point lead and would need to lose one and draw the other of the two remaining games, an unlikely scenario.

Bayern Munich got the job done against Hannover 96 in their 3:1 victory. However the story of the game wasn’t really about Bayern’s performance but once again about the referee. Christian Dingert awarded Hannover a handball penalty with the help of VAR which was even worse than the one Schalke got against BVB last week.

The handball rule is confusing for everybody and it does not seem like the Bundesliga referees are on the same page when it come to the rule. Something must change or we’ll keep discussing this every single week which is certainly not in the interest of the league.

Nevertheless Bayern got the job done and are on the verge of their seventh straight title.

In the battle for the last remaining Champions League spot Bayer Leverkusen thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 6:1. Frankfurt had no chance whatsoever but are still in 4th place and in control of their destiny, although they still have a difficult game in Munich on matchday 34.

In addition Gladbach and Hoffenheim drew 2:2 and Wolfsburg won against Nürnberg which means all three of them are also still in the hunt for the Champions League spots.

In the relegation battle Freiburg, Augsburg and Schalke can celebrate after securing their place in the Bundesliga. Which means Stuttgart, Nürnberg and Hannover will be the bottom three this season. Two of them will definitely go down but one team still has the chance to stay in the Bundesliga thanks to the relegation playoff.

• 2.Bundesliga

Greuther Fürth host 1.FC Köln today, a draw would secure a place in the Bundesliga for Cologne. Even if they can’t clinch it today it looks like Cologne will be back after just one year in the 2.Bundesliga.

Meanwhile matchday 32 was somewhat curious because every single team from place 2 to 8 lost which means the following teams can still get promoted Paderborn (54 Pts), Union Berlin (53 Pts), HSV (53 Pts), Heidenheim (49 Pts) and St. Pauli (48 Pts). The last two matchdays will be very interesting.

• Demirbay to Leverkusen - Brandt-replacement? (kicker)

According to several outlets Bayer Leverkusen will trigger Kerem Demirbay’s 32€ million release clause in his contract and sign the midfielder to a 5-year contract. This would make the current Hoffenheim player Leverkusen’s record signing.

This indicates that Leverkusen will sell one of their young stars, either Brandt or Havertz seem the most likely exits. For BVB this could increase their chances of signing Julian Brandt who is rumored to be one of Dortmund’s targets for this summer.