Bayern Clinches Title, Shifts Focus To Treble Bid

BERLIN, April 20 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- FC Bayern Munich wrapped up its 35th Bundesliga title with a 4-2 home win over VfB Stuttgart, becoming champion on the 30th matchday after Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 defeat at TSG Hoffenheim left Vincent Kompany's side out of reach with four games remaining, reported Xinhua.

Four days after the 4-3 Champions League quarterfinal triumph against Real Madrid, Bayern completed the final step at home despite rotating heavily. The visitors briefly delayed the celebrations when Chris Fuhrich finished after a pass from Bilal El Khannouss in the 21st minute.

Bayern responded quickly and decisively. In the 32nd minute, Jamal Musiala drove forward and set in motion the equaliser, with Raphael Guerreiro tapping into an empty net from close range. Seconds later, Guerreiro won the ball and fed Luis Diaz, who squared for Nicolas Jackson to turn Bayern in front in the 33rd minute.

The pressure kept building. After a chaotic sequence in the Stuttgart box, Diaz supplied Alphonso Davies for Bayern's third in the 37th minute, leaving the hosts in control before the interval. Kompany then changed again at the break, sending on Michael Olise and Harry Kane.

The England striker needed only a little more than six minutes to score. After goalkeeper Alexander Nubel had denied Leon Goretzka, Kane converted for 4-1 in the 52nd minute. Bayern continued to create chances, but the margin did not grow further. Instead, Chema Andres struck a long-range consolation effort in the 88th minute to complete the scoring.

The title, Bayern's second in a row, followed a start-to-finish campaign in which they seized first place on the opening day with a 6-0 win against RB Leipzig and never gave it up. They have already reached 109 league goals, surpassing the previous Bundesliga mark of 101 from 1971/72.

Bayern now turns to the DFB-Pokal semifinal at Bayer Leverkusen and then the Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain. Stuttgart remains fourth after the defeat, two points ahead of TSG Hoffenheim in the race for the Champions League.

"It feels wonderful. Every title is special, like the first. You put in a lot of work for moments like this, and when they arrive, you have to enjoy them. But from tomorrow the focus shifts again, as always. It is not finished yet. We move on because there is still something to win," said Vincent Kompany, who clinched his second Bundesliga title with Bayern.

Elsewhere, Freiburg scored twice in a 2-1 win over bottom side Heidenheim, while Nadiem Amiri secured Mainz a late 1-1 draw at Borussia Monchengladbach.  

--BERNAMA-XINHUA