Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title with four games to spare on Sunday, thanks to a little help from their traditional rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Moenchengladbach forward Max Kruse scored in the last minute to inflict a 1-0 defeat on second-place VfL Wolfsburg, removing the mathematical possibility of Bayern being caught.
Kruse lifted the ball over Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio for his side to move into third place.
Photo: AFP
With 76 points from 30 games, Bayern have an unassailable 15-point lead over Wolfsburg, one of only two sides to have beaten the Bavarian giants this season.
Moenchengladbach are the other.
Bastian Schweinsteiger scored late for Bayern to beat Hertha BSC 1-0 at home on Saturday, the win that ultimately secured the club’s third straight Bundesliga title.
Bayern have a record 25 German championships overall, including the first from 1932, with the rest coming after the Bundesliga was formed in 1963.
The treble is still a possibility for Pep Guardiola’s side in his second season at the club, with a DFB Pokal semi-final at home to Borussia Dortmund today, before attention turns to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Guardiola led Bayern to a league and cup double in his first season after taking over from Jupp Heynckes, who had steered the side to the treble in 2012-2013.
Moenchengladbach made the better start against Wolfsburg, with Patrick Herrmann going close in the 21st minute, before the visitors improved.
Kevin de Bruyne and Ricardo Rodriguez both had good chances before the break.
The best chances of the second half fell to Kruse, who fired over in the 74th minute and just wide two minutes later, before he finally sealed the result for Bayern’s celebrations to begin.
“Bayern deserve it, they’re the best, and we deserved it too, to win today,” Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. “I always thought we could score a goal.”
Earlier on Sunday, SC Paderborn 07 let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home with Werder Bremen and miss the opportunity to escape the relegation zone.
Mario Vrancic met Moritz Stoppelkamp’s corner with a brilliant volley to blast Paderborn ahead in the 26th minute and Stoppelkamp headed the home side’s second a minute later.
Suleyman Koc almost made it 3-0 two minutes after that, but he shot just wide of the far post and Paderborn were to rue several missed chances.
Davie Selke pulled one back with a header just before the break, before Izet Hajrovic equalized in the 76th minute, two minutes after coming on as a substitute, with a low shot inside the post after a corner.
The hosts had Michael Heinloth sent off for a second yellow card two minutes after that.
Paderborn moved a point above bottom club VfB Stuttgart, while a win would have propelled the promoted side above Hamburg SV and Hannover 96.
Bremen missed the chance to go seventh.
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