After the match, the Man of the Match award wasn't given to Zhou Yi, who equalized for Borussia Dortmund, nor to Toni Kroos, who scored for Bayern Munich, but to Borussia Dortmund's goalkeeper, Weidenfeller.

This result was, of course, undisputed. Weidenfeller deserved the honor.

Even Zhou Yi praised Weidenfeller heavily in the post-match interview: "Those last few minutes almost gave me a heart attack. Roman is my instant heart-saver!"

If it weren't for Weidenfeller's heroic performance in the final moments, Bayern Munich might have actually scored a last-minute winner against Borussia Dortmund.

Now, with a point in hand, Borussia Dortmund left the Allianz Arena satisfied.

As Marcel Reif said in his post-match commentary, Bayern Munich's failure to defeat Borussia Dortmund at home may have foreshadowed the future battle between the two powerhouses for the league title, leaving a suspenseful question mark.

After fifteen rounds of league play, Bayern Munich remained at the top of the table with twelve wins, two draws, and one loss, accumulating thirty-eight points.

Borussia Dortmund followed in second place with ten wins, four draws, and one loss, totaling thirty-four points.

Bayer Leverkusen was in third place with nine wins, three draws, and three losses, earning thirty points, four points behind Borussia Dortmund, and even further behind Bayern Munich, with an eight-point difference.

Overall, this season should be like the previous two, with the league title mainly contested between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. It all depends on who performs more consistently throughout the long season. The league is not like the cup, it's a marathon. Leading at the start or in the middle doesn't guarantee you'll definitely win the championship. Consistent and stable performance is the most important thing, rather than a temporary burst of energy.

Because competing for advancement isn't just about the league; there are also domestic and European cup competitions, which will all influence the teams' performances in the league.

Bayern Munich has performed very well in multiple competitions. They certainly have experience in this regard. No matter how much Großkreutz mocks, Schweinsteiger's confidence is real.

If Borussia Dortmund wants to compete with Bayern Munich for the league title this season, while also advancing further in the Champions League, they will face a severe test.

Consider Schalke 04 this season. They finished third in the league last season, and their performance in the Champions League group stage has been outstanding, especially against the seeded team Arsenal, winning away and drawing at home. This performance has truly made people look at them in a new light.

With one match remaining in the Champions League group stage, they have already qualified for the next round.

However, while their performance in the Champions League is outstanding, their performance in the league pales in comparison.

After fifteen rounds of league play, they have seven wins, four draws, and four losses, accumulating twenty-five points, placing them fourth.

Although the ranking looks decent, the fact that they are thirteen points behind league leaders Bayern Munich indicates that they haven't focused on the league at all this season, instead concentrating on making a breakthrough in the Champions League.

Of course, Schalke 04 isn't doing this because they have any ambitions in the Champions League. Ultimately, there's only one reason why they're working so hard in the Champions League—money.

Every match in the Champions League comes with prize money.

According to the UEFA Champions League prize money scheme introduced this season, each team that participates in the Champions League group stage will receive two million euros in prize money first, followed by a match appearance fee of four hundred thousand euros for each group stage match. If they win in the group stage, they will receive an additional six hundred thousand euros per victory. A draw also earns them three hundred thousand euros, with no money for losing.

In addition, if they reach the round of sixteen, the team will also receive a prize of two million two hundred thousand euros.

This is why many strong teams hope to qualify from the group stage, because the prize money earned after qualifying is much greater. Whether or not you can qualify makes a big difference financially.

Schalke 04 certainly doesn't think their strength is just for a trip to the group stage. Leaving aside the prize money for the round of sixteen, performing well in the group stage alone can earn them a significant amount of money from victories. Of course, they want to strive for more wins in the group stage.

However, with Schalke 04's strength and squad depth, achieving good results in the Champions League means they cannot guarantee their performance in the league, and may even have to give up on the league.

Schalke 04's performance this season is obvious. Their form is unstable when playing in the league, sometimes good and sometimes bad. In fifteen matches, they have drawn four and lost four, with a non-winning rate of over 50%. But they are particularly energetic when playing in the Champions League, with the whole team acting as if they've been given a shot in the arm. They won 2-1 away against Olympiacos, drew 2-2 at home with Montpellier, beat Arsenal 2-0 away, drew 2-2 at home with Arsenal, and beat Olympiacos 1-0 at home. With only one match remaining in the group stage, they had not lost a single one of their previous five matches, earning prize money in every game. Not counting the four million four hundred thousand euros for the group stage appearance fee, Schalke 04 has already earned two million four hundred thousand euros in win and draw bonuses alone.

For Bundesliga teams that are very concerned about financial health, Champions League prize money is a very important subsidy. They can't always rely on selling players to earn large transfer fees. Even if they wanted to do so, they don't have enough players to sell. Champions League prize money is an important growth point for them to maintain profitability.

Now, with one round to go before qualifying from the group stage, Schalke 04 has already pocketed the two million two hundred thousand euros prize money for the round of sixteen in advance. Perhaps they are already considering the two million five hundred thousand euros prize money for the quarter-finals.

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After Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich finished this "Der Klassiker," they also had to face their respective final matches in the Champions League group stage.

This season, three Bundesliga teams entered the main stage of the Champions League, and after the battles of the group stage, all three teams entered the knockout stage. Their performances will earn enough European competition points for the Bundesliga, establishing their voice in the allocation of Champions League places in the future.

This is something the entire German football community is happy to see.

The media also hopes that German teams can go further in the Champions League this time, just like last season, when Bayern Munich reached the final and Borussia Dortmund reached the semi-finals.

Among the three Bundesliga teams, Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund were the first to appear, in the group stage on December 4, respectively challenging Montpellier away and hosting Manchester City at home.

In the end, Schalke 04 drew 1-1 with Montpellier, and because Arsenal lost 1-2 to Olympiacos in an away game, Schalke 04 surprisingly finished first in the group with twelve points, surpassing the seeded team Arsenal!

This can be regarded as a pleasant surprise for Schalke 04. They thought that Group One would definitely be Arsenal's, since they failed to beat Montpellier away. They were very happy to qualify from this group and reach the round of sixteen, no matter whether they were first or second in the group. Who would have thought that a few minutes later, they would become the group leader?

In the final round of Group D, which was held at the same time, Borussia Dortmund made rotations at home, but even so, they still beat Manchester City 1-0 at home, while Real Madrid beat Ajax 4-1 away.

In fact, the outcome of these two games didn't mean much to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

After all, the first and second places in the group had been determined. However, it may have been a bit meaningful for Ajax—if they could get third in the group, they could still participate in the UEFA Cup. But the key to whether they could get third in the group was not in this match between them and Real Madrid. Even if they used all their strength, they might not be able to beat Real Madrid. The key was in Manchester City's away match against Borussia Dortmund. If Borussia Dortmund, whose qualification as the group leader was a foregone conclusion, deliberately played loosely and lost to Manchester City, then Manchester City would surpass Ajax with five points and become third in the group, earning a place in the UEFA Cup knockout stage.

Therefore, Ajax had to hope that Borussia Dortmund would uphold sportsmanship and not lose to Manchester City at home, even a draw would be fine. The final result made Ajax feel satisfied. Borussia Dortmund did not abandon sportsmanship just because the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

As for Manchester City... the ambitious English Premier League upstarts who wanted to write a new chapter in the Champions League didn't take the UEFA Cup seriously at all. Whether they get third in the group or participate in the UEFA Cup really didn't mean anything to Manchester City. They had no time to pay attention to it.

In the end, the points ranking of this group of death was clear. Borussia Dortmund had five wins and one draw, accumulating sixteen points, ranking first. Real Madrid had three wins, two draws, and one loss, accumulating eleven points, ranking second. Ajax had one win, one draw, and four losses, accumulating four points, ranking third. Manchester City had zero wins, two draws, and four losses, accumulating two points, ranking fourth, last place.

Originally, everyone thought that the points would be very close in this group of death, but such a big difference appeared, which many people didn't expect at all. It seems that everyone will have to continue waiting for another classic group of death like Group D in the 1999 Champions League.

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One day later, Bayern Munich welcomed their last opponent in the Champions League group stage, BATE Borisov, at home.

Before the match, they and Atletico Madrid had the same points, but they had the advantage in the head-to-head record.

So as long as they can have the same points as Atletico Madrid, they can get the first place in the group.

But what is the safest way?

Of course, it's still to win. If Bayern Munich were to accidentally capsize in their own home, losing to BATE Borisov, or being held to a draw by BATE Borisov, and Atletico Madrid beat Lille away, then Bayern Munich would have to swallow their regret and finish second in the group, which would be unfavorable for the draw in the round of sixteen.

So winning is enough.

In the end, Bayern Munich lived up to expectations and beat BATE Borisov 4-1 at home. At the same time, Atletico Madrid did beat Lille 1-0 away.

The two teams had thirteen points each. In the end, Bayern Munich became the group leader by virtue of their head-to-head record, beating Atletico Madrid 2-1 at home and drawing 1-1 away.

Three Bundesliga teams qualified from three groups as group leaders, which can be described as a "grand occasion" for German football...