Bayern break records en route to Bundesliga title as Liverpool reach the Premier league summit

Bayern break records en route to Bundesliga title as Liverpool reach the Premier league summit
By Euronews
Share this articleComments
Share this articleClose Button
ADVERTISEMENT

We start this edition of The Corner in Germany where Bayern Munich continue to rewrite the record books.

Last Tuesday they secured the Bundesliga title for the 24th time, with a record seven games to spare.

The 3-1 win at Herta Berlin earned them a 19th league victory in a row –
another record.

After the weekend’s draw with Hoffenheim the Bavarians reached 53 matches unbeaten which – you guessed it – is another record.

The draw, on Saturday at the Allianz Arena wouldn’t have wrecked their champagne title celebrations as Pep Guardiola’s team can now focus fully on Champions League.

Bayern’s title-winning hangover was made worse midway through the first half when Anthony Modeste handed visiting Hoffenheim the lead albeit at the second time of asking.

Last season’s treble winners regrouped quickly and in the 31st minute Claudio Pizarro headed home a Xherdan Shaqiri cross from close range.

Three minutes later the pair linked up again in devastating fashion with Shaqiri turning from provider to scorer to send the hosts into the lead.

Pizarro got his name on the scoresheet again five minutes before the break – the Peruvian making the most of Franck Ribery’s delivery to make it 3-1, a scoreline that did little justice to the real state of play.

But minutes later Hoffenheim deservedly clawed their way back into the match thanks to a stunning Sejad Salihovic long range free kick.

Hoffenheim had the last say in the outcome when Brazilian Roberto Firmino earned the visitors a point on 75 minutes – making them only the third side to take anything off Bayern in the Bundesliga all season.

With Bayern having already locked down the title, the chasing field are left fighting for the remaining spots.

Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, for the moment, are on course for Europe’s top club competition next term while Bayer Leverkusen are looking over their shoulders at Wolfsburg as both hunt the Champions preliminary round.

In England, once again, there’s a change at the top of the standings.

Liverpool thrashed Tottenham 4-0 at Anfield for their 8th league win in a row which has put them in a great position to end their 24-year wait for a 19th league title.

Manchester City’s title push suffered a setback when they were held by Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal.

In front of their vocal home support the Gunners had Mathieu Flamini to thank for a second half effort which secured an important point for the Londoners.

Looking at the standings, Liverpool are top two points clear of Chelsea, who were stunned by Crystal Palace. City are third, four points from the top but with two games in hand.

ADVERTISEMENT

In Spain the situation at the top remains unchanged.

The three club’s fighting for the title all enjoyed victories.

Atletico Madrid wobbled in Bilbao before Diego Costa and Koke came through for Diego Simeone’s side for a 2-1 win.

Lionel Messi scored his third penalty in six days when his spot kick was enough to secure a one nil win over local rivals Espanyol while Real Madrid bounced back from two defeats in a row to thrash Rayo Vallecano 5-0.

With seven matches left three points separate the title-chasing trio.

ADVERTISEMENT

In Italy Napoli got the better of an out-of-sorts Juventus.

Without the suspended Carlos Tevez the league leaders stuttered in their march towards a third straight domestic league title.

Luckily for Juventus Gigi Buffon was in red hot form and helped limit the damage to just a two nil defeat.

It was sweet revenge for Napoli, who lost the reverse fixture 3-0 against the champions earlier in the season.

Although disappointing for the ‘Old Lady’ it wasn’t a dramatic outcome as Antonio Conte’s team remain top of the table with an 11-point cushion over second-placed Roma, victors over Sassuolo.

ADVERTISEMENT

Roma could reduced the gap to eight points on Wednesday when they play their match in hand against Parma.

Ajax moved ever closer to a 4th consecutive Dutch league title with victory over Twente.

With five games remaining Ajax are looking good for glory as they are eight points clear of second placed Feyenoord.

After two draws in a row Franck De Boer’s men were keen to get back to winning ways as the end of the season draws ever closer.

Although Twente were the better of the two in the first half at the Amsterdam Arena defender Stefano Denswil got Ajax off and running in the 29th minute when he headed home a free-kick by Lasse Schone.

ADVERTISEMENT

Schone got onto the scorecard himself 13 minutes after the restart when he slotted home a Ricardo van Rhijn square pass for his eighth league goal of the campaign.

Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic put the win beyond any doubt on the 65th minute to secure Ajax their 18th win of the campaign, which moved a delighted De Boer and his men one step closer to the title.

Share this articleComments

You might also like

Europe's Top 5 Leagues: Who are the favourites?

Euro 2024: Three months to go

The Rise of Celebrity Investors Into Football