Yussuf Poulsen struck with the final kick of the game to delay Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title party, capping a dramatic 3-3 draw for RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Poulsen’s stoppage-time equalizer came after Bayern roared back from two goals down with a flurry – Eric Dier in the 62nd minute, Michael Olise in the 63rd, and Leroy Sane in the 83rd – seemingly sealing the title.
Leipzig had surged ahead early through Benjamin Sesko in the 12th and Lukas Klostermann in the 39th, taking advantage of a Bayern side missing suspended top scorer Harry Kane on a wet, nervy afternoon.
Kane had already left the stands and was pitch-side, ready to celebrate his first-ever Bundesliga title, when Poulsen struck.
Bayern can still be officially confirmed as German champions for the 34th time this weekend if second-place Bayer Leverkusen fail to win at Freiburg on Sunday.
Bayern, however, are effectively champions as they lead Leverkusen by nine points, with three games remaining, and boast a superior goal difference of 30.
“The equalizer makes it a bit strange. It’s an in-between feeling. But we all feel like champions,” Bayern veteran Thomas Müller told Sky TV.
“There is a lot of joy that we came back in the second half. The team showed what this club is capable of.”
Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig added: “It doesn’t matter if we become champions tomorrow or next week.”
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga
Resurgent Borussia Dortmund climbed past Leipzig and Freiburg into fourth place with a 4-0 demolition of Wolfsburg, thanks to braces from Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi. Dortmund have taken 16 points from their last six matches and are firmly back in contention for a top-four finish.
Borussia Mönchengladbach played to a wild 4-4 draw with lowly Hoffenheim, who fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to lead 4-3 before Gladbach’s Tim Kleindienst equalized in stoppage time.
Jens Stage struck twice early for Werder Bremen before Union Berlin rallied to a 2-2 draw.
In Hamburg, Nick Woltemade had a penalty saved but later netted a late winner for DFB Cup finalists VfB Stuttgart at St. Pauli, who had Siebe Van der Heyden and goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj sent off.
All eyes on Bayern
Almost all the attention, though, was on Bayern, where Müller replaced Kane to earn his 749th appearance for the club before his likely departure at season’s end after 25 years.
Urbig remained in goal, with Manuel Neuer on the bench after recovering from a calf injury that had sidelined him for two months.
Urbig made a crucial early save against Amadou Haidara, but Leipzig kept up the pressure and broke through after 12 minutes.
Xavi Simons played a long ball to Sesko from deep in his own half after Olise lost possession. The stranded Urbig slipped, and Sesko fired into the empty net from nearly 35 meters.
Bayern took time to settle and then fell further behind when Klostermann headed in Leipzig’s second from David Raum’s free kick in the 39th.
Bayern upped the pressure after the break, with Joshua Kimmich shooting just over the bar on the hour.
Dier pulled one back by heading in Sane’s corner at the near post, and Olise leveled just a minute later after Aleksandar Pavlovic won the ball in Leipzig’s half.
Kimmich then set up Sane to curl in what looked to be the title-winning goal in the 83rd minute.
But Leipzig fought back, and Simons found Poulsen, who chipped over Urbig and into the far corner for a dramatic equalizer.
“I am very proud of the lads that they believed until the end,” Leipzig interim coach Zsolt Löw said.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said: “You always want perfection. That wasn’t the case in the first half. But maybe we had the best moments of the season in the second half. I would have wished for something else in the end.”
Sunday’s other games include Mainz vs. third-place Eintracht Frankfurt and Augsburg vs. second-to-last Holstein Kiel. Bottom club Bochum temporarily avoided relegation with a 0-0 draw at third-from-bottom Heidenheim on Friday.