Bayern seal Bundesliga title
March 25, 2014
Rather in keeping with the season as a whole, Bayern's Bundesliga triumph looked certain very early on in proceedings on Tuesday night.
Bayern Munich took an early two-goal lead in the capital, thanks to goals from German internationals Toni Kroos and Mario Götze. Despite a second-half scare when Adrian Ramos won and converted a penalty for Hertha Berlin, Bayern proceeded to score a third and win 3-1.
'This championship is for Uli'
Goalie Manuel Neuer perhaps summed up his team's title defense under Pep Guardiola most succinctly.
"We carried the momentum from our treble [into this season]. Nobody was expecting things to continue quite so smoothly, but we are happy to have this coach," Neuer said. "He's moving us forward."
Guardiola himself was keen to invoke Bayern's only real loss of the season so far - the conviction of former board chairman and club president Uli Hoeness on tax evasion charges.
"This championship is for Uli," Guardiola said. "He is the most important person in this club." Guardiola also told reporters that the players would dine and celebrate together in Berlin, confirming that they had no Wednesday training appointment back in Munich. "Today, and tomorrow, we celebrate."
A league of their own
Nineteen consecutive away wins, ten consecutive league wins, no Bundesliga defeats in over 50 matches, less than half a goal conceded on average per game, more than two-and-a-half scored per game: you really can pick and choose your own statistics to demonstrate this season's dominance.
The Bavarians lifted the Bundesliga salad bowl at a record lick under coach Jupp Heynckes last season, putting Dortmund mathematically out of reach with six games to spare. Guardiola was therefore able not only to defend Heynckes' Bundesliga title - probably the minimum expactation for the new star coach on Säbener Strasse - but to do so in late March, as opposed to early April.
The Bavarians have scored 77 points out of a possible 81, and could yet become the first ever Bundesliga team to play an entire league season without defeat.
Though scarcely a surprise considering the opposition, the defeat stretches Hertha's barren league run to five matches without a win. The capital club has struggled to maintain its form from the first half of the season, but remains at least in the hunt for European competition.
Schalke's Fährmann keeps honors even
Borussia Dortmund and Schalke both dropped points in their derby meeting, drawing 0-0 in Dortmund. As a result, Dortmund retain their one-point advantage over third-placed Schalke, but drop out of reach of Bayern's imperious points tally. Schalke goalie Ralf Fährmann had an impressive game in goal, denying Marco Reus on a couple of key occasions.
Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp congratulated Bayern for achieving back-to-back league titles, which he won in 2011 and 2012.
"What you've pulled off this season is just incredible. We can still see you, way up there, but we really do need a telescope now," Klopp quipped when asked what his message was for the Bavarians. "But never mind, even I enjoy it from time to time - it's just good to watch."
In Tuesday's other games, bottom-of-the-table Braunschweig scored three huge home points, beating Mainz 3-1. Domi Kumbela scored one either side of half time, his second a spectacular bicycle kick in the box. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, beat hosts Werder Bremen by exactly the same score - Maximilian Arnold scored the goal of the game, a fierce left-footed drive from distance.