The 2020–21 Bundesliga was the 58th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 September 2020, with 8-time defending champion Bayern Munich hosting Schalke 04, and concluded on 22 May 2021. The season was originally scheduled to begin on 21 August 2020 and conclude on 15 May 2021, though this was delayed due to postponement of the previous season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fixtures were announced on 7 August 2020.
Bayern Munich were the defending champions, broke the record for most consecutive seasons played in Bundesliga since first promotion, and successfully defended their title, winning their record-extending 9th consecutive title and 31st title overall (30th in the Bundesliga era) on 8 May with three games to spare. By winning their thirtieth Bundesliga title, Bayern Munich are honoured with a fifth gold star on their team badges and shirts. Alt URL
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski set a new record for goals scored in a season with 41, surpassing the previous record of 40 goals set by Gerd Müller in 1971–72.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic On 3 September 2020, the DFL General Assembly voted to extend the use of five substitutions in matches to the 2020–21 season, which was implemented at the end of the previous season to lessen the impact of fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of five substitutes, based on the decision of competition organisers, had been extended by IFAB until 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season began with matches behind closed doors or at reduced capacity due to restrictions across German states. Leipzig allowed up to 8,500 spectators to begin the season, while regulations in Berlin allowed for up to 5,000 supporters.
Summary Bayern Munich began the season less than a month after defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final, as the match had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In their first game, they beat Schalke 04 8–0, and were the dominant side early on in the season. After a 3–2 away victory over title contenders Borussia Dortmund in November, many pundits praised Bayern as the best team in Europe. This praise continued all season long, with former Bayern manager Pep Guardiola proclaiming them the best club in Europe in March. Bayern mathematically confirmed their ninth consecutive Bundesliga title on 8 May 2021 with three matches to spare, following closest contender RB Leipzig's 2–3 loss to Dortmund. The title was Bayern's 30th Bundesliga and 31st German championship overall, which would see them add a fifth star to their badge in the following season.
Meanwhile, Schalke 04 endured a disaster season, failing to win a game in nine consecutive months dating back to the previous season, before defeating a fourth-tier club in the German Cup. They failed to win thirty Bundesliga matches in a row, falling one short of the all-time record set by Tasmania Berlin in 1965–66, before a 4–0 win against 1899 Hoffenheim in January. Schalke had announced before the season that they had debts of over 200 million, which led them to slash spending. The poor results led to departures for executives and managers. Former Schalke star Klaas-Jan Huntelaar returned to Schalke from Ajax in January in an attempt to stave off relegation, but he was unable to prevent Schalke from being relegated for the first time in over thirty years.
A hot start to the season for Robert Lewandowski led to early talk that he could break Gerd Müller's 49-year-old record of 40 goals scored in one Bundesliga season, with teammate Thomas Müller suggesting it could happen back in October. Lewandowski capped off a successful year in December by winning his first FIFA Men's Player of the Year award. As Lewandowski continued his strong performances, interest in him overtaking Müller's record grew from various media outlets. However, a knee injury suffered whilst on international duty on 31 March threatened Lewandowski's record-chase and kept him out of action for a month. Lewandowski returned to action in April, just five goals away from equalling the single-season goal record. On 15 May 2021, Lewandowski scored his 40th goal of the season against SC Freiburg with one match to spare, therefore equalling Gerd Müller's record tally from 1971–72. In the last match of the season the following week, Lewandowski scored his 41st league goal in the final minute of the match against FC Augsburg to break Müller's record.
Teams
A total of 18 teams participated in the 2020–21 edition of the Bundesliga.
Team changes Promoted from2019–20 2. Bundesliga Relegated from2019–20 Bundesliga Arminia BielefeldVfB Stuttgart Fortuna DüsseldorfSC Paderborn
Stadiums and locations Team Location Stadium Capacity FC Augsburg Augsburg WWK Arena 30,660 Hertha BSC Berlin Olympiastadion 74,649 Union Berlin Stadion An der Alten Försterei 22,012 Arminia Bielefeld Bielefeld Schüco-Arena 27,300 Werder Bremen Bremen Wohninvest Weserstadion 42,100 Borussia Dortmund Dortmund Signal Iduna Park 81,365 Eintracht Frankfurt Frankfurt Deutsche Bank Park 51,500 SC Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau Schwarzwald-Stadion 24,000 1899 Hoffenheim Sinsheim PreZero Arena 30,150 1. FC Köln Cologne RheinEnergieStadion 49,698 RB Leipzig Leipzig Red Bull Arena 42,558 Bayer Leverkusen Leverkusen BayArena 30,210 Mainz 05 Mainz Opel Arena 34,000 Borussia Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach Borussia-Park 54,057 Bayern Munich Munich Allianz Arena 75,000 Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen Veltins-Arena 62,271 VfB Stuttgart Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz Arena 60,449 VfL Wolfsburg Wolfsburg Volkswagen Arena 30,000
Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Front Sleeve FC Augsburg Markus Weinzierl Jeffrey Gouweleeuw Nike WWK Siegmund Hertha BSC Pál Dárdai Dedryck Boyata Nike HomedayHomeday Hyundai Union Berlin Urs Fischer Christopher Trimmel Adidas Aroundtown wefox Arminia Bielefeld Frank Kramer Fabian Klos Macron Schüco JAB Anstoetz Textilien Werder Bremen Thomas Schaaf Niklas Moisander Umbro Wiesenhof 188bet Borussia Dortmund Edin Terzić (interim) Marco Reus Puma 1&1/Evonik (in cup and UEFA matches) Opel Eintracht Frankfurt Adi Hütter Makoto Hasebe Nike Indeed.com dpd SC Freiburg Christian Streich Christian Günter Hummel Schwarzwaldmilch ROSE Bikes 1899 Hoffenheim Sebastian Hoeneß Benjamin Hübner Joma SAP SNP 1. FC Köln Friedhelm Funkel Jonas Hector Uhlsport REWE DEVK RB Leipzig Julian Nagelsmann Marcel Sabitzer Nike Red Bull CG Immobilien Bayer Leverkusen Hannes Wolf (interim) Charles Aránguiz Jako Barmenia Versicherungen Kieser Training Mainz 05 Bo Svensson Danny Latza Kappa Kömmerling fb88.com Borussia Mönchengladbach Marco Rose Lars Stindl Puma flatex/DEGIRO (in UEFA matches) Sonepar Bayern Munich Hansi Flick Manuel Neuer Adidas Deutsche Telekom Qatar Airways Schalke 04 Dimitris Grammozis Sead Kolašinac Umbro Gazprom Harfid VfB Stuttgart Pellegrino Matarazzo Gonzalo Castro Jako Mercedes-Benz Bank Mercedes-EQ VfL Wolfsburg Oliver Glasner Josuha Guilavogui Nike Volkswagen Linglong Tire
Managerial changes Team Outgoing Exit date Position in table Incoming Incoming date Announced on Departed on Announced on Arrived on 1899 Hoffenheim Marcel Rapp Kai Herdling (interim) End of caretaker spell 9 June 2020 30 June 2020 Pre-season Sebastian Hoeneß 27 July 2020 Schalke 04 David Wagner Sacked 27 September 2020 18th Manuel Baum 30 September 2020 Mainz 05 Achim Beierlorzer 28 September 2020 17th Jan-Moritz Lichte (interim) 28 September 2020 Borussia Dortmund Lucien Favre 13 December 2020 5th Edin Terzić (interim) 13 December 2020 Schalke 04 Manuel Baum 18 December 2020 18th Huub Stevens (interim) 18 December 2020 Huub Stevens (interim) End of caretaker spell 22 December 2020 Christian Gross 27 December 2020 Mainz 05 Jan-Moritz Lichte (interim) Sacked 28 December 2020 17th Jan Siewert (interim) 28 December 2020 Jan Siewert (interim) End of caretaker spell 4 January 2021 Bo Svensson 4 January 2021 Hertha BSC Bruno Labbadia Sacked 24 January 2021 13th Pál Dárdai 25 January 2021 Schalke 04 Christian Gross 28 February 2021 18th Dimitris Grammozis 2 March 2021 Arminia Bielefeld Uwe Neuhaus 1 March 2021 16th Frank Kramer 2 March 2021 Bayer Leverkusen Peter Bosz 23 March 2021 6th Hannes Wolf (interim) 23 March 2021 1. FC Köln Markus Gisdol 11 April 2021 17th Friedhelm Funkel 12 April 2021 FC Augsburg Heiko Herrlich 26 April 2021 13th Markus Weinzierl 26 April 2021 Werder Bremen Florian Kohfeldt 16 May 2021 16th Thomas Schaaf (interim) 16 May 2021
League table
Results
Relegation play-offs
All times are CEST (UTC+2).
Overview
Matches
1. FC Köln won 5–2 on aggregate, and therefore both clubs remained in their respective leagues.
Statistics Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals 1 Robert LewandowskiBayern Munich 41 2 André SilvaEintracht Frankfurt 28 3 Erling HaalandBorussia Dortmund 274 Andrej Kramarić1899 Hoffenheim20 Wout WeghorstVfL Wolfsburg 6 Saša KalajdžićVfB Stuttgart 16 7 Lars StindlBorussia Mönchengladbach 148 Lucas AlarioBayer Leverkusen11 Max KruseUnion Berlin Thomas MüllerBayern Munich SilasVfB Stuttgart
Hat-tricks
Player Club Against Result Date Serge Gnabry Bayern Munich Schalke 04 8–0 (H) Andrej Kramarić 1899 Hoffenheim 1. FC Köln 3–2 (A) Niclas Füllkrug Werder Bremen Schalke 04 3–1 (A) Robert Lewandowski4 Bayern Munich Hertha BSC 4–3 (H) Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Eintracht Frankfurt 5–0 (H) Erling Haaland4 Borussia Dortmund Hertha BSC 5–2 (A) Jean-Philippe Mateta Mainz 05 SC Freiburg 3–1 (A) Lars Stindl Borussia Mönchengladbach Eintracht Frankfurt 3–3 (A) Matthew Hoppe Schalke 04 1899 Hoffenheim 4–0 (H) Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Borussia Dortmund 4–2 (H) Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich VfB Stuttgart 4–0 (H) Joel Pohjanpalo Union Berlin Werder Bremen 3–1 (H) Josip Brekalo VfL Wolfsburg Union Berlin 3–0 (H) Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Borussia Mönchengladbach 6–0 (H) 4 Player scored four goals.
Assist providers RankPlayerClubAssists1Thomas MüllerBayern Munich182Filip KostićEintracht Frankfurt143Daichi Kamada124Jonas HofmannBorussia Mönchengladbach11Jadon SanchoBorussia Dortmund6Raphaël Guirreiro10Joshua KimmichBayern MunichKingsley ComanMoussa DiabyBayer LeverkusenVincenzo GrifoSC Freiburg
Clean sheets Rank Player Club Cleansheets 1 Péter GulácsiRB Leipzig 15 2 Koen CasteelsVfL Wolfsburg 14 3 Stefan OrtegaArminia Bielefeld 11 4 Manuel NeuerBayern Munich 95 Lukáš HrádeckýBayer Leverkusen8 Alexander SchwolowHertha BSC7 Rafał GikiewiczFC Augsburg7 Marwin HitzBorussia Dortmund9 Oliver Baumann1899 Hoffenheim6 Florian MüllerSC Freiburg Jiří PavlenkaWerder Bremen Yann SommerBorussia Mönchengladbach
Awards Monthly awards Month Player of the Month Rookie of the Month Goal of the Month Player Club Player Club Player Club September Andrej Kramarić 1899 Hoffenheim Jude Bellingham Borussia Dortmund Joshua Kimmich Bayern Munich October Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Mateo Klimowicz VfB Stuttgart Yussuf Poulsen RB Leipzig November Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund Silas Valentino Lazaro Borussia Mönchengladbach December Lars Stindl Borussia Mönchengladbach Leon Bailey Bayer Leverkusen January André Silva Eintracht Frankfurt Matthew Hoppe Schalke 04 Nadiem Amiri February Jadon Sancho Borussia Dortmund Silas VfB Stuttgart Marcel Sabitzer RB Leipzig March Filip Kostić Eintracht Frankfurt Ritsu Dōan Arminia Bielefeld Deyovaisio Zeefuik Hertha BSC April Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund Jamal Musiala Bayern Munich Ondrej Duda 1. FC Köln May colspan="2" colspan="2" Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich
Annual awards
Award Winner Club Player of the Season Erling Haaland Borussia Dortmund Rookie of the Season Silas VfB Stuttgart Goal of the Season Valentino Lazaro Borussia Mönchengladbach