How Bayern Munich won its 13th Bundesliga title in 14 years

BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich wrapped up another Bundesliga title on Sunday, the club’s 13th in 14 years, after a record-breaking season that could still get better.

The Bundesliga is just the first of a potential treble of trophies with Bayern next facing Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals of the German Cup on Wednesday before it takes on defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the semifinals of the Champions League.

The Bundesliga is seen within the club as the minimum target for the season and this is Bayern’s record-extending 35th German championship. Apart from the first in 1932, when it was decided by regional champions in a knockout competition, all the others came after the Bundesliga’s formation in 1963.

Bayern is always keen to assert its domestic dominance. Leverkusen’s triumph in 2024 was an outlier that spurred Bayern to back-to–back titles and may be the start of another long run.

Bayern bounced back from the trauma of 2012 – when it lost the Champions League final in Munich to Chelsea, as well as the Bundesliga and German Cup final to Borussia Dortmund – by winning the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble the following season under Jupp Heynckes.

The Bundesliga this season is just the first step as Bayern chases another treble. Here’s a closer look at how it was won:

Goals

Bayern smashed its own league record for goals scored in a season by clocking five against St. Pauli to take its tally to 105 goals last weekend. The previous record was 101 goals scored by Bayern’s 1971-72 team featuring Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller.

England forward Harry Kane was among the scorers in the title-clinching 4-2 win against Stuttgart on Sunday to extend the record to 109 goals. And there are still four rounds remaining.

Kane took his club tally for the season to 50 against Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals. It’s 51 now. He has 32 goals in 27 Bundesliga games so far.

New signing Luis Díaz chipped in 15 and Michael Olise has 12, but Bayern’s goals came from all over the team with Leon Goretzka getting the record-breaking 102nd goal against St. Pauli.

Including the win over Stuttgart, Bayern scored four goals or more in 14 league games starting on the opening day with a 6-0 rout of Leipzig.

Rivals

Bayern again has no rival capable of challenging its dominance. Borussia Dortmund came closest this season but it was long clear it couldn’t provide a match for Bayern, which ended any notions of a contest at the end of February by winning 3-2 in Dortmund.

“We have an 11-point advantage,” Joshua Kimmich said at the time, “we’re not going to give it away.”

Dortmund opened the way for Bayern to clinch the title on Sunday by losing two consecutive games.

None of Stuttgart, Leipzig or Leverkusen could even keep up with Dortmund.

Kompany

Though he was far from first choice, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has proven an inspired appointment for a team that was misfiring and underachieving with Thomas Tuchel.

In his second season at Bayern, Kompany has more than steadied the ship, promoting young players like Lennart Karl – who looks set to become a star – while thoughtfully rotating the squad to keep all his players involved and happy while minimizing the likelihood of injuries.

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Kane has had his sights on breaking Robert Lewandowski’s season record of 41 Bundesliga goals but Kompany decided to manage his star forward’s playing time to rest him for key games in the Champions League and German Cup.

Kompany also earned praise for speaking up against racism after José Mourinho blamed Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior for provoking the abuse he receives, and he welcomed the appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as the first female coach in the Bundesliga last week.

Kompany has brought harmony to Bayern, a club previously known as “FC Hollywood” for all the tabloid headlines it generated.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer