Bayern Munich’s Thomas Mueller hailed their “phenomenal” achievement after they were on Saturday confirmed the Bundesliga champions for the ninth consecutive season.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski grabbed a hat-trick in a 6-0 thrashing of Borussia Moenchengladbach at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Bayern were confirmed champions even before the start after Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 win at home to second-placed RB Leipzig earlier in the day.
Photo: AFP
“Nine titles in a row. That’s crazy — and I was there each time. I’m very grateful for that,” 31-year-old Mueller said. “It shows the development of this club over the years. It’s a huge amount of work every year with a great team.”
Head coach Hansi Flick has won seven titles in 18 months, but next season is to be replaced by RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann.
“That performance was worthy of champions,” Flick said.
Mueller scored Bayern’s second goal, while Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane also got on the scoresheet alongside Lewandowski, who this season has 39 league goals — one short of Gerd Mueller’s all-time Bundesliga record.
“We wanted to show on the pitch that we are German champions,” said Lewandowski, who insisted that he would “keep stepping on the gas” as he chases Mueller’s record with two games left.
Flick said that Lewandowski is writing himself into the club’s folklore.
“Gerd Mueller was my idol when I was young, but what Gerd Mueller was in my youth, Lewandowski is today,” he added.
Thomas Mueller, who won his first Bundesliga title with Bayern back in 2009-2010, said that he never dreamed of such success when he joined the Bavarian giants as a schoolboy.
“When you play here as a little boy, you don’t think you’ll ever play in the first team at FC Bayern. You’re just happy when you get tickets for home games,” he said.
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