Guardiola ‘signs off’ at Bayern with league title – Stuttgart relegated
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on May 14. Bayern Munich won the German League for a record 4th time in a row. (AFP)
BERLIN, May 14, (AFP): Pep Guardiola signed off his three years in the Bundesliga with a ‘beer shower’ on Saturday as Bayern Munich lifted a fourth straight German league title after Saturday’s 3-1 win over bottom-side Hanover.
Bayern’s 28th win in 34 league games triggered party scenes at the Allianz Arena as the Bavarians celebrated their 26th German league title.
This was Guardiola’s 20th trophy as a coach after 14 in four years with Barcelona and now six in three years in Munich before leaving to coach Manchester City next season.
It was only a matter of minutes after the final whistle before he was soaked in beer as his players emptied over-sized glasses over the Spaniard in the traditional title celebrations.
“It’s cold, it stinks, but it was nice,” was Guardiola’s verdict following his ‘beer shower’ after Manuel Neuer, David Alaba and Douglas Costa all emptied their 3-litre glasses of beer over their coach.
“Of course, it’s been a great day,” added Guardiola.
Guardiola’s final game as Bayern coach is next Saturday’s German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund in Berlin where his side could send him off with the domestic double.
The Spaniard received a standing ovation after a presentation from the 75,000 sold-out crowd at the Allianz Arena as Bayern became the first club to win the German league four times in a row.
Poland hot-shot Robert Lewandowski finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer after claiming his 30th league goal of the season. No other foreign striker has ever scored so many goals in a single Bundesliga season.
Mario Goetze then netted twice in what could be his last Bundesliga game for Bayern.
According to reports, the German World Cup winner has been told to find a new club by Bayern’s in-coming coach Carlo Ancelotti, who will replace Guardiola next season.
Lewandowski opened the scoring on seven minutes before Goetze doubled the hosts’ lead on 28 minutes when he beat the Hanover defence, then chipped home to get the party started.
He claimed his second after the break after Hanover made a hash of defending a corner.
Hanover, playing their last game before relegation, pulled a goal back when Poland international Artur Sobiech got in behind the Bayern defence on 66 minutes.
Bayern finish 10 points clear after second-placed Dortmund drew 2-2 at home to Cologne, with Germany winger Marco Reus equalising for the hosts.
VfB Stuttgart, the 2007 champions, were relegated, joining Hanover in the second division next season, after their 3-1 defeat at Wolfsburg.
Andre Schuerrle boosted his chances of making Germany’s Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday with two goals as Wolfsburg caught Stuttgart on the counter-attack.
Stuttgart forward Daniel Didavi sparked a late fightback with a 78th minute goal but his side finished 17th — second from bottom.
Werder Bremen stay up after Senegal defender Papy Djilobodji, on loan from Chelsea, scored their dramatic 88th-minute goal to seal a 1-0 win at home to Eintracht Frankfurt.
It marked the end to a turbulent week for the Senegal international, who is being investigated by state prosecutors for making a cut-throat gesture at an opponent during a Bundesliga game in March.
The result saw Bremen move up to 13th while Frankfurt finish 16th and now face a two-legged play-off against Nuremberg, who finished third in the second division.
The first leg will be held in Frankfurt on Thursday with the return leg on Monday May 23 in Nuremberg.
Schalke will play in next season’s Europa League, along with Mainz and Hertha Berlin who drew 0-0, after their 4-1 thumping of hosts Hoffenheim.
It was Andre Breitenreiter’s final game as Schalke coach, after only one season in charge, as he announced before kick-off that he is leaving a year before his contract ends.
Standings
P W D L GF GA Pts
*Bayern Munich 34 28 4 2 80 17 88
Dortmund 34 24 6 4 82 34 78
Leverkusen 34 18 6 10 56 40 60
M’gladbach 34 17 4 13 67 50 55
Schalke 04 34 15 7 12 51 49 52
Mainz 05 34 14 8 12 46 42 50
Hertha 34 14 8 12 42 42 50
Wolfsburg 34 12 9 13 47 49 45
Cologne 34 10 13 11 38 42 43
Hamburg 34 11 8 15 40 46 41
Ingolstadt 04 34 10 10 14 33 42 40
Augsburg 34 9 11 14 42 52 38
Werder 34 10 8 16 50 65 38
Darmstadt 98 34 9 11 14 38 53 38
Hoffenheim 34 9 10 15 39 54 37
Frankfurt 34 9 9 16 34 52 36
**VfB Stuttgart 34 9 6 19 50 75 33
**Hanover 96 34 7 4 23 31 62 25
NB: Top three qualify automatically for Champions League group stage; Fourth goes into Champions League play-offs; Fifth, sixth and seventh qualify for Europa League; Bottom two go down with third-bottom going into a two-leg relegation play-off with third place in Bundesliga 2.
Note: 1. Standings read as played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against and points.
- * denotes champions, ** denotes relegated
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