Bayern Munich’s party was wrecked by Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, who hit back for a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena, forcing the Bavarians to wait at least a week to clinch a fourth straight Bundesliga title.
Bayern, needing a win to wrap up the championship, were made to pay for their complacency as they rotated their team and sat back after Thomas Mueller had given them an early lead.
The 75,000 capacity home crowd, clearly believing the match was a formality after seeing their team win 14 of their previous 15 home league games this season, were stunned when Andre Hahn equalized midway through the second half.
Photo: EPA
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund closed the gap to five points by thrashing VfL Wolfsburg 5-1, helped by two second-half goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s 19-year-old winger Julian Brandt scored for the sixth league game in a row to set them on the way to a 2-1 victory over Hertha BSC.
The win guaranteed Leverkusen a top-three finish and a place in the Champions League group stage for the fourth season in a row, while ’Gladbach now occupy the playoff spot after leapfrogging Hertha into fourth place.
Bayern still remain firm favorites for the title with their remaining games away to mid-table Ingolstadt 04 and at home to relegated Hanover 96.
“Of course, we wanted to win today,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. “We started very well and controlled the game... Borussia Moenchengladbach are a very good team who play very good football.”
Guardiola made eight changes from the side which lost 1-0 at Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, with Philipp Lahm, Javi Martinez, David Alaba, Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal and Robert Lewandowksi among the regulars left out.
Even so, Bayern took a sixth-minute lead when Mueller met Joshua Kimmich’s corner with a low header from 10m which bounced past several players and went in off the foot of the post.
However, the hosts allowed Gladbach to take the initiative and there were even some whistles from the Allianz Arena crowd as Bayern’s defenders at one point passed the ball amongst themselves.
Gladbach, unbeaten in their last four games with Bayern, produced several scares and equalized when Hahn got between the defenders to collect a pass from Lars Stindl, made space and drilled his shot past Manuel Neuer at his near post.
Bayern threw themselves into the attack without offering much of a threat in the closing minutes.
Dortmund’s Shinji Kagawa and Adrian Ramos struck as they raced to a 2-0 lead in a devastating first 10 minutes.
Marco Reus scored a third on the hour and Aubameyang netted twice in two minutes to take his tally for the season to 25. Andre Schuerrle got Wolfsburg’s consolation.
Sixth-placed Schalke 04 stayed in the hunt for a Champions League playoff spot by winning 3-1 at relegated Hanover 96, to move within a point of the top four.
FSV Mainz 05, two points behind Schalke in seventh, were held to a disappointing goalless draw at home by mid-table Hamburg SV.
Eintracht Frankfurt moved out of the bottom two into the relegation playoff spot with a 2-1 win at SV Darmstadt 98.
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