Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga title again with a 4-2 victory over Stuttgart on Sunday. Harry Kane scored his league-leading 32nd goal of the season after coming on as a substitute in the second half, but Bayern should have scored more against a dominant Stuttgart defense.
With this victory, Bayern now has an absolute lead over second-place Borussia Dortmund by 15 points with four rounds remaining in the German league. With Dortmund losing to Hoffenheim the day before, Bayern needed one more point to secure the title.
For Bayern, this is the 35th German Championship, a record that includes the club’s first victory in 1932. All other titles have been won since the creation of the Bundesliga in 1963.
Stuttgart’s Chris Flich angered the home side with his first goal in the 21st minute, but Bayern’s Rafal Guerreiro, Nicholas Jackson and Alphonso Davies hit back with goals in the first six minutes.
Spaniard Chema scored Stuttgart’s second goal in the 88th minute.
refrain from celebrating
Bayern players lined up in front of the fans, but there was no traditional beer shower that usually accompanies a league victory.
The Bundesliga is just the first of a potential trophy treble for Bayern this season. Bavaria’s strong team will play away to Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup semi-finals on Wednesday, before playing defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League semi-finals.
Immediately after the match started, the atmosphere was quiet. There were reports of clashes between Bayern and Stuttgart fans before the game, with some missing the game altogether.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany made eight changes to his squad for Wednesday’s Champions League match against Real Madrid, leaving Manuel Neuer, Kane, Michael Olise, Dayot Upamecano and Alexander Pavlovy on the bench.
Serge Gnabry injured his thigh during training the day before and was absent. Kompany said: “We were very unlucky. We only had to take a penalty shot.”
According to statistics provider Opta, 23-year-old Jamal Musiala is the second-youngest Bayern player to reach 150 Bundesliga appearances, after Uli Hoene, who is 11 days younger.
Musiala beat two defenders on the left and opened the scoring in the 31st minute with a cross from Guerreiro, before Luis Daz unselfishly slotted in Nicholas Jackson for Bayern’s second goal after a mistake by Finn Jertsch left three attackers facing one Stuttgart defender. Four minutes later, Alphonso Davies scored on a deflected shot. Kompany dropped Musiala and Daz during the break and replaced them with Olise and Kane.
Kane’s goal was Bayern’s 51st goal of the season in all competitions, extending his team’s Bundesliga season goal record to 109. The previous record was 101 goals, set by Bayern’s team in the 1971-72 season, which featured Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller.
“It’s very special,” midfielder Joshua Kimmich said. “This season in particular, including today’s game, is a very good season in the Bundesliga. To come here after the game against Madrid and play a game like this is not normal.”
