Berlin, May 11: Thomas Müller led Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title celebrations after helping the team beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 in his last home game for the club.
After being presented with the trophy, Bayern captain Manuel Neuer gave it to Müller to hoist toward the Munich sky and start the confetti-filled revelry.
There was another outpouring of emotion when Harry Kane got his chance to lift the “salad bowl” – it’s the England captain’s first team trophy after a career of near-misses.
Kane was still holding onto the trophy even as Neuer got the customary beer showers underway by dousing Müller after a speech to the crowd. But soon Kane was soaked, too, and he let the trophy out of his grip.
Bayern won its record-extending 34th German championship title last weekend.
Michael Olise made sure of Saturday’s win by scoring one goal and setting up the other for Kane’s league-leading 25th of the season to get the party underway in Munich.Bochum and Holstein Kiel were relegated while Leipzig’s hopes of Champions League qualification ended after drawing at Werder Bremen 0-0.
Last-placed Bochum lost at home to Mainz 4-1, and Kiel lost at home 2-1 to Freiburg, which consolidated fourth place and was poised for Champions League qualification.Leipzig’s scoreless draw in Bremen left it four points behind Freiburg with one round remaining, meaning it can no longer qualify for Europe’s lucrative premier competition.Neither Bochum nor Kiel have any possibility of catching third-from-bottom Heidenheim following the latter’s 3-0 win at Union Berlin. Heidenheim made sure of at least a relegation playoff place.
With one game left to play, Bochum had 22 points, Kiel 25, and Heidenheim 29 – just two behind St. Pauli, which had two matches remaining. St. Pauli plays its penultimate match at third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.It’s Bochum’s seventh demotion from the top division. The club was promoted to the Bundesliga as the second division champion in 2021, ending an 11-year absence from the top division.
Bochum defeated Bayern 3-2 away in March, but it was Dieter Hecking’s team’s only win in its last 11 games.
“I’ve been relegated before, it’s anything but nice. You could see it with the lads, tears were flowing,” Bochum captain Maximilian Wittek said. “It’s among the worst things that can happen in football.”Kiel was promoted for the first time only last season and coach Marcel Rapp’s team has quickly returned to the second division.Kiel scored first but Johan Manzambi equalized before the break and Lucas Höler headed Freiburg toward the Champions League.
Freiburg moved four points clear of Borussia Dortmund, which visits Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday for Xabi Alonso’s last home game as Leverkusen coach. A Leverkusen win would send Freiburg to the Champions League.
After seven years away, Hamburger SV clinched its return to the Bundesliga by routing Ulm 6-1 in Germany’s second division. (AP)
