BELLINGHAM AGONY AS DORTMUND DREAM DIES

BY the end, it was all too much for him. Jude Bellingham paced around, rubbed his forehead and bit into a fluorescent green bib as his emotions took over. Moments later, he was lying flat on the floor with a broken heart.

The dream of delivering the Bundesliga trophy to Borussia Dortmund had died in front of his eyes and there was nothing he could do to prevent it happening.

Dortmund had played wretchedly against Mainz in the home game they were expected to win and were losing 2-1. But, for eight minutes late on, the trophy was in their hands. Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern Munich had slipped in the game they were expected to win in Cologne and this would be enough.

Then the news arrived that Jamal Musiala had pounced to secure a 2-1 win for Bayern and, at the same time, put a dagger through Dortmund hearts. How Bellingham, ruled out through injury, wanted to be out there to save this young team.

A ruinous opening 25 minutes, when they conceded two cheap goals and missed a penalty, came home to roost. What a shame a fine season should end this way, what a miserable goodbye this will be if it is to be Bellingham’s last dance before joining Real Madrid.

‘Jude was fighting every day to get back into the team — it was a tough decision not to play him,’ said Dortmund head coach Edin Terzic. Bellingham looked emotionally empty as he stood in front of Dortmund’s famed Yellow Wall at the end, clapping them and then giving one fan his shirt as a souvenir.

Bayern have now won 11 titles in a row and you have to wonder when Dortmund will get as close to them again. They had moved mountains, after selling Erling Haaland and Manuel Akanji to Manchester City last summer, to even get into this position.

Without Bellingham, how compelling will their fightback be? Dortmund insist they have not received any approach for him but it is inevitable a bid of more than £100million will arrive eventually from Spain.

Mainz took the lead with their first attack through Andreas Hanche-Olsen and you knew what kind of afternoon it would be when Sebastien Haller squandered a quick chance to atone, but his weak penalty, given after a VAR intervention, was saved by Mainz keeper Finn Dahmen.

In the 24th minute, Karim Onisiwo headed past keeper Gregor Kobel for Mainz’s second goal.

With Munich ahead in Cologne through Kingsley Coman, a miracle was needed and while Dortmund improved, scoring in the 68th minute through Raphael Guerreiro, they never had a grandstand finish in them. News of Cologne’s equaliser started a fire of hope. However, it was snuffed out by Musiala’s strike. Dortmund got an equaliser of their own through Niklas Sule in injury time — but it was too little, too late.