This might finally be the year that Borussia Dortmund dethrones Bayern Munich.
All too often in Bayern’s record 10-year run of German titles, Dortmund has failed to capitalise when Bayern dropped points.
That changed on Saturday when Dortmund routed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to rise atop the Bundesliga after Bayern lost 3-1 against Mainz, conceding three times in 14 minutes.
Jude Bellingham scored the opening goal for Dortmund, with the versatile midfielder playing like a striker to receive the ball in space on the edge of the box, turn and shoot past Kevin Trapp. Now the England international’s club leads Bayern by one point with five games to go in the title race.
Still only 19, Bellingham is nearing the end of his third season at Dortmund amid transfer speculation with interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. During his time in Germany, he has developed into a starter for England at the World Cup and a leader for Dortmund on the field.