# 2017–18 Bundesliga

The 2017–18 Bundesliga was the 55th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football competition. It began on 18 August 2017 and concluded on 12 May 2018. The fixtures were announced on 29 June 2017.
Following an offline test phase in the previous season, the video assistant referee system was used for the first time in the Bundesliga on a trial basis following approval from IFAB.
Bayern Munich were the defending champions and won their 27th Bundesliga title on 7 April with five games to spare, winning a sixth consecutive title for the first time in their history. 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV were relegated at the end of the season, with Hamburg therefore losing their status as the only ever-present team in Bundesliga history.

## Summary

One of the managerial changes before the start of the season was at Borussia Dortmund, who had finished third the previous season. After sacking Thomas Tuchel, they hired the Dutchman Peter Bosz in June 2017, after he had led Ajax to the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final. Dortmund were also the German club involved in the biggest transfer of the summer, selling young French forward Ousmane Dembélé to Barcelona for an initial €105 million. Meanwhile, reigning champions Bayern Munich prepared for the season by breaking the league's transfer record in their purchase of French midfielder Corentin Tolisso from Lyon for €41.5 million.
On 28 September 2017, Bayern sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti amidst reports of player unrest, despite the club sitting in third place. He was replaced by Jupp Heynckes in his fourth spell at the club. On 28 October, a 2–0 win over RB Leipzig put Bayern on top of the table for the first time in the season. In December, Dortmund sacked Bosz with the team in seventh, and replaced him with the Austrian Peter Stöger who himself had recently been dismissed by winless bottom team 1. FC Köln.
In the January 2018 transfer window, Dortmund lost the season's second-top scorer, Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who moved to Arsenal for a €63 million fee. They replaced him by bringing in Chelsea's Michy Batshuayi on loan. From December to February, Bayern went on a 10-match winning streak that ended with a goalless draw with Hertha BSC at the Allianz Arena, and managed 13 unbeaten until a 1–2 loss at Leipzig on 18 March.
Dortmund remained unbeaten for 12 games between December and 31 March, when they lost 0–6 away to Bayern. Schalke 04, who finished only 10th the previous season, were in the top 3 for most of the season. They were unbeaten for 11 games between September and January, putting together six consecutive victories in February and March before a 2–3 loss at bottom team Hamburg.
Bayern won their 27th Bundesliga and 28th German title (6th consecutive) on 7 April 2018, with five games left to play after defeating fellow Bavarian club FC Augsburg 4–1. Three weeks later, Köln were the first team relegated after a 2–3 loss to SC Freiburg. On 5 May, Schalke secured second place and a return to the Champions League for the first time in four years, with a 2–1 win at Augsburg. On the last matchday, 1899 Hoffenheim beat Dortmund 3–1 to finish ahead of the latter on goal difference at an all-time high third place and securing a spot in the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. Following VfL Wolfsburg's 4–1 win over Köln, Hamburg were relegated from the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski was the league's top scorer for the third time, a record for a foreign player. He scored 29 goals, 14 more than second-placed Nils Petersen of Freiburg.

## Teams

A total of 18 teams participated in this edition of the Bundesliga.

### Team changes

| Promoted from 2016–17 2. Bundesliga | Relegated from 2016–17 Bundesliga |
| VfB Stuttgart Hannover 96 | FC Ingolstadt Darmstadt 98 |

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| FC Augsburg | Augsburg | WWK Arena | 30,660 |
| Hertha BSC | Berlin | Olympiastadion | 74,475 |
| Werder Bremen | Bremen | Weser-Stadion | 42,100 |
| Borussia Dortmund | Dortmund | Signal Iduna Park | 81,360 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Frankfurt | Commerzbank-Arena | 51,500 |
| SC Freiburg | Freiburg im Breisgau | Schwarzwald-Stadion | 24,000 |
| Hamburger SV | Hamburg | Volksparkstadion | 57,000 |
| Hannover 96 | Hanover | HDI-Arena | 49,000 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Sinsheim | Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena | 30,150 |
| 1. FC Köln | Cologne | RheinEnergieStadion | 49,698 |
| RB Leipzig | Leipzig | Red Bull Arena | 42,558 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Leverkusen | BayArena | 30,000 |
| Mainz 05 | Mainz | Opel Arena | 34,000 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Mönchengladbach | Borussia-Park | 54,014 |
| 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 | Shirt sponsor |
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Front | Sleeve |
| FC Augsburg | Manuel Baum | Daniel Baier | Nike | WWK | baramundi software |
| Hertha BSC | Pál Dárdai | Vedad Ibišević | Nike | bet-at-home.com | TEDi |
| Werder Bremen | Florian Kohfeldt | Zlatko Junuzović | Nike | Wiesenhof | H-Hotels |
| Borussia Dortmund | Peter Stöger | Marcel Schmelzer | Puma | Evonik | Opel |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | Niko Kovač | Alexander Meier | Nike | Indeed.com | Deutsche Börse Group |
| SC Freiburg | Christian Streich | Julian Schuster | Hummel | Schwarzwaldmilch | None |
| Hamburger SV | Christian Titz | Gōtoku Sakai | Adidas | Fly Emirates | Popp Feinkost |
| Hannover 96 | André Breitenreiter | Edgar Prib | Jako | Heinz von Heiden | HDI |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | Julian Nagelsmann | Eugen Polanski | Lotto | SAP | Prowin |
| 1. FC Köln | Stefan Ruthenbeck | Matthias Lehmann | Erima | REWE | DEVK |
| RB Leipzig | Ralph Hasenhüttl | Dominik Kaiser | Nike | Red Bull | CG Immobilien |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Heiko Herrlich | Lars Bender | Jako | Barmenia Versicherungen | Westminster-Gruppe |
| Mainz 05 | Sandro Schwarz | Stefan Bell | Lotto | Kömmerling | MFD Aviation |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | Dieter Hecking | Lars Stindl | Kappa | Postbank | H-Hotels |
| Bayern Munich | Jupp Heynckes | Manuel Neuer | Adidas | Deutsche Telekom | Hamad Airport |
| Schalke 04 | Domenico Tedesco | Ralf Fährmann | Adidas | Gazprom | Allyouneed Fresh |
| VfB Stuttgart | Tayfun Korkut | Christian Gentner | Puma | Mercedes-Benz Bank | GAZİ |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Bruno Labbadia | Ignacio Camacho | Nike | Volkswagen | UPS |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Incoming date | Ref. |
| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Announced on | Departed on | Position in table | Incoming | Announced on | Arrived on | Ref. |
| Mainz 05 | Martin Schmidt | Sacked | 22 May 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Pre-season | Sandro Schwarz | 31 May 2017 | 1 July 2017 | |
| Borussia Dortmund | Thomas Tuchel | Sacked | 30 May 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Pre-season | Peter Bosz | 6 June 2017 | 1 July 2017 | |
| Bayer Leverkusen | Tayfun Korkut | End of contract | 13 May 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Pre-season | Heiko Herrlich | 9 June 2017 | 1 July 2017 | |
| Schalke 04 | Markus Weinzierl | Sacked | 9 June 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Pre-season | Domenico Tedesco | 9 June 2017 | 1 July 2017 | |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Andries Jonker | Sacked | 18 September 2017 | 18 September 2017 | 14th | Martin Schmidt | 18 September 2017 | 18 September 2017 | |
| Bayern Munich | Carlo Ancelotti | Sacked | 28 September 2017 | 28 September 2017 | 3rd | Willy Sagnol (interim) | 28 September 2017 | 28 September 2017 | |
| Bayern Munich | Willy Sagnol (interim) | End of caretaker spell | 6 October 2017 | 6 October 2017 | 2nd | Jupp Heynckes | 6 October 2017 | 6 October 2017 | |
| Werder Bremen | Alexander Nouri | Sacked | 30 October 2017 | 30 October 2017 | 17th | Florian Kohfeldt | 30 October 2017 | 30 October 2017 | |
| 1. FC Köln | Peter Stöger | Sacked | 3 December 2017 | 3 December 2017 | 18th | Stefan Ruthenbeck | 3 December 2017 | 3 December 2017 | |
| Borussia Dortmund | Peter Bosz | Sacked | 10 December 2017 | 10 December 2017 | 7th | Peter Stöger | 10 December 2017 | 10 December 2017 | |
| Hamburger SV | Markus Gisdol | Sacked | 21 January 2018 | 21 January 2018 | 17th | Bernd Hollerbach | 22 January 2018 | 22 January 2018 | |
| VfB Stuttgart | Hannes Wolf | Sacked | 28 January 2018 | 28 January 2018 | 15th | Tayfun Korkut | 29 January 2018 | 29 January 2018 | |
| VfL Wolfsburg | Martin Schmidt | Resigned | 19 February 2018 | 19 February 2018 | 14th | Bruno Labbadia | 20 February 2018 | 20 February 2018 | |
| Hamburger SV | Bernd Hollerbach | Sacked | 12 March 2018 | 12 March 2018 | 17th | Christian Titz | 12 March 2018 | 12 March 2018 | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Bayern Munich (C) | 34 | 27 | 3 | 4 | 92 | 28 | +64 | 84 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Schalke 04 | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 53 | 37 | +16 | 63 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Borussia Dortmund | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 64 | 47 | +17 | 55 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 5 | Bayer Leverkusen | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 55 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 6 | RB Leipzig | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 53 | Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round |
| 7 | VfB Stuttgart | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 51 | |
| 8 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 45 | 45 | 0 | 49 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
| 9 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 52 | −5 | 47 | |
| 10 | Hertha BSC | 34 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 43 | |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 42 | |
| 12 | FC Augsburg | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 41 | |
| 13 | Hannover 96 | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 39 | |
| 14 | Mainz 05 | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 36 | |
| 15 | SC Freiburg | 34 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 36 | |
| 16 | VfL Wolfsburg (O) | 34 | 6 | 15 | 13 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 33 | Qualification for the relegation play-offs |
| 17 | Hamburger SV (R) | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 29 | 53 | −24 | 31 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
| 18 | 1. FC Köln (R) | 34 | 5 | 7 | 22 | 35 | 70 | −35 | 22 | Relegation to 2. Bundesliga |
* ↑ Eintracht Frankfurt qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2017–18 DFB-Pokal.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AUG | BSC | BRE | DOR | FRA | FRE | HAM | HAN | HOF | KÖL | LEI | LEV | MAI | MÖN | MUN | SCH | STU | WOL |
| FC Augsburg | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Hertha BSC | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–6 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Werder Bremen | 0–3 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 6–1 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| SC Freiburg | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Hamburger SV | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 |
| Hannover 96 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| 1899 Hoffenheim | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 6–0 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| 1. FC Köln | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 1–0 |
| RB Leipzig | 2–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–5 | 1–2 | — | 1–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Mainz 05 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Bayern Munich | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 6–0 | 4–1 | 5–0 | 6–0 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 5–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–4 | 2–2 |
| Schalke 04 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–0 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — |

## Relegation play-offs

All times are UTC+2.

### Second leg

VfL Wolfsburg won 4–1 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.

## Statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 29 |
| 2 | Nils Petersen | SC Freiburg | 15 |
| 3 | Niclas Füllkrug | Hannover 96 | 14 |
| 3 | Mark Uth | 1899 Hoffenheim | 14 |
| 3 | Kevin Volland | Bayer Leverkusen | 14 |
| 6 | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | 13 |
| 6 | Michael Gregoritsch | FC Augsburg | 13 |
| 6 | Andrej Kramarić | 1899 Hoffenheim | 13 |
| 6 | Timo Werner | RB Leipzig | 13 |
| 10 | Alfreð Finnbogason | FC Augsburg | 12 |
| 10 | Salomon Kalou | Hertha BSC | 12 |
| 10 | Sandro Wagner | 1899 Hoffenheim Bayern Munich | 12 |
* ↑ Aubameyang transferred from Borussia Dortmund to Arsenal during the winter break.
* ↑ Wagner transferred from 1899 Hoffenheim to Bayern Munich during the winter break.

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Club | Against | Result | Date |
| Alfreð Finnbogason | FC Augsburg | 1. FC Köln | 3–0 | 9 September 2017 |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 6–1 | 23 September 2017 |
| Max Kruse | Werder Bremen | Hannover 96 | 4–0 | 19 November 2017 |
| Nils Petersen | SC Freiburg | 1. FC Köln | 4–3 | 10 December 2017 |
| Alfreð Finnbogason | FC Augsburg | SC Freiburg | 3–3 | 16 December 2017 |
| Niclas Füllkrug | Hannover 96 | Mainz 05 | 3–2 | 13 January 2018 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Hamburger SV | 6–0 | 10 March 2018 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | Borussia Dortmund | 6–0 | 31 March 2018 |
| Kevin Volland | Bayer Leverkusen | Eintracht Frankfurt | 4–1 | 14 April 2018 |
| Andrej Kramarić | 1899 Hoffenheim | Hannover 96 | 3–1 | 27 April 2018 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Roman Bürki | Borussia Dortmund | 12 |
| 1 | Ralf Fährmann | Schalke 04 | 12 |
| 1 | Sven Ulreich | Bayern Munich | 12 |
| 1 | Ron-Robert Zieler | VfB Stuttgart | 12 |
| 5 | Oliver Baumann | 1899 Hoffenheim | 10 |
| 5 | Bernd Leno | Bayer Leverkusen | 10 |
| 7 | Marwin Hitz | FC Augsburg | 9 |
| 7 | Alexander Schwolow | SC Freiburg | 9 |
| 9 | Koen Casteels | VfL Wolfsburg | 8 |
| 9 | Jiří Pavlenka | Werder Bremen | 8 |

## Awards
### Goal of the year (2017)

Sébastien Haller won the award for his goal for Eintracht Frankfurt.

## Attendances

| Rank | Team | Home games | Average attendance |
| 1 | Borussia Dortmund | 17 | 79,496 |
| 2 | Bayern München | 17 | 75,000 |
| 3 | Schalke 04 | 17 | 61,197 |
| 4 | VfB Stuttgart | 17 | 56,045 |
| 5 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 17 | 50,986 |
| 6 | Hamburger SV | 17 | 50,656 |
| 7 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 17 | 49,159 |
| 8 | 1. FC Köln | 17 | 48,776 |
| 9 | Hertha BSC | 17 | 45,319 |
| 10 | Hannover 96 | 17 | 42,706 |
| 11 | RB Leipzig | 17 | 39,397 |
| 12 | Werder Bremen | 17 | 38,726 |
| 13 | Mainz 05 | 17 | 28,766 |
| 14 | TSG Hoffenheim | 17 | 28,716 |
| 15 | Bayer Leverkusen | 17 | 28,415 |
| 16 | FC Augsburg | 17 | 28,238 |
| 17 | VfL Wolfsburg | 17 | 25,712 |
| 18 | SC Freiburg | 17 | 23,894 |