Bayern Munich Win 6th Straight Bundesliga Title After Beating Augsburg 4-1
April 7, 2018
Bayern Munich won their sixth Bundesliga title in a row after beating Bavarian rivals Augsburg 4-1 on Saturday.
Augsburg took the lead through an own goal from Niklas Sule, but Corentin Tolisso, James Rodriguez, Arjen Robben and Sandro Wagner turned the situation around.
The club confirmed the result was enough to seal top spot:
The result means Die Roten captured the title with five games left to play to highlight an eventful season defined by a change of manager and a returning hero.
Jupp Heynckes is the latter after stepping back into the dugout to replace Carlo Ancelotti following the Italian's dismissal back in September. Ancelotti had won the title in the previous season, but Bayern opted to move on amid rumours senior players were unhappy with the Italian's methods.
There was a breakdown when the squad reacted in a lukewarm way to Ancelotti's training style, according to Carlo Wild of German publication Kicker (h/t BBC Sport).
A further report from Kicker (h/t The Independent) said senior members of the playing staff, rumoured to include Robben and Franck Ribery, ran higher-intensity practice sessions in secret from Ancelotti.
Heynckes calmed the atmosphere around the club and restored key figures such as forward Thomas Muller and Arturo Vidal to the starting XI. He also got the most out of Real Madrid loanee Rodriguez while making room for 23-year-old midfield gem Tolisso.
The manager, who won a treble with Bayern in 2012/13 with one of the greatest sides of the decade, brought the swagger and efficiency back to the Allianz Arena.
A 6-0 thumping of bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker at the end of March put Heynckes' team one win away from another title.
Now 72, Heynckes is set to leave at the end of the season despite president Uli Hoeness and chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge previously trying to convince him to stay, per ESPN FC's Raphael Honigstein.
In March, Rummenigge told Sky Sports Germany how former Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel had turned down the chance to succeed Heynckes in favour of another job (h/t Rory O'Callaghan of Sky Sports).
Whoever becomes the next Bayern manager will inherit a deep and talented squad with the right mix of knowhow and youthful enthusiasm to continue dominating Germany's top flight.