Bayern Munich will have to wait at least another week before wrapping up this season's Bundesliga title after second-placed Borussia Dortmund won 2-1 at Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon. Polish duo Lukasz Piszczek and Robert Lewandowski scored the goals for the visitors in Swabia, with Alexandru Maxim equalising in between for the home side.
The result means that Juergen Klopp's side, who have won the Bundesliga title in each of the last two seasons, can still theoretically catch Bayern. The Bavarians were hoping to become the first team ever to be crowned Bundesliga champions before the end of March, but will now hope to beat Hamburg later on Saturday and Eintracht Frankfurt next weekend to secure a 23rd national title.
The main focus for Dortmund just now is their Champions League quarter-final against Malaga, with the first leg to come in Spain on Wednesday, and the early loss of defender Marcel Schmelzer to a broken nose will affect their preparations for that match. They took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Piszczek looped a header into the net following a Marco Reus free-kick, but Stuttgart, who have been poor at home this season, fought back in the second half.
The home side were inches away from equalising just before the hour, Christian Gentner hitting the post from a corner before Mario Goetze cleared Antonio Ruediger's follow-up off the line. Nevertheless, Bruno Labbadia's men were level moments later, Romanian midfielder Maxim cutting in from the right flank and curling a shot inside the far post for his first goal since arriving in the Bundesliga in January.
That goal would have been celebrated just as loudly by Bayern fans as by those of Stuttgart, as a draw at the Mercedes-Benz Arena would have left the Bavarians in position to secure the crown. However, Stutttgart were reduced to 10 men midway through the second half when former Bayern defender Georg Niedermeier, who had already been booked, was given his marching orders for a dangerous challenge on Goetze.