After the end of the first half of the season, Kaiserslautern was four points ahead of Bayern, and while it was expected by many that the second direct encounter at Fritz-Walter-Stadion would be the start of an eventual change at the top, FCK again beat Bayern, this time 2–0, resulting in a seven-point margin between the two teams after matchday 18.
Remarkable matchdays in terms of who would win the championship included round 23 and 24, when Bayern lost two matches in a row, while FCK managed to collect four points.
Bayern never overtook Kaiserslautern during the whole season, and after matchday 33, with FCK beating VfL Wolfsburg 4–0 at home while Bayern only achieving a 0–0 draw at MSV Duisburg, Kaiserslautern were the early champions, with four points ahead with only one match remaining.
Another surprise of the season was FC Hansa Rostock who just missed qualification for the UEFA Cup, and all three newly promoted teams avoided relegation.
FC Köln had to go down after a 2–2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the final match of the season, ending a consecutive 35-year run of Bundesliga seasons for Cologne and leaving Hamburger SV as the "dinosaur" of the league (that is, the only Bundesliga founding member that had never been relegated until 2018).
Karlsruher SC left the league after eleven seasons, while Borussia Mönchengladbach escaped relegation on the last matchday.