June 17 – Bayern Munich wrapped up their eighth consecutive Bundesliga title on Tuesday night – in near silence.
Having won seven out of seven games since German football emerged from lockdown, Bayern secured the title with a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Werder Bremen to pull mathematically clear of Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
Victory was secured by prolific Polish international marksman Robert Lewandowski who has now scored 31 league goals this season, a tally that equals the single-season scoring record by a foreign player in Germany. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, now at Arsenal, scored 31 goals for Borussia Dortmund in 2016-17.
But Bayern’s achievement was all done behind closed doors rather in front of thousands of celebrating fans.
With the rain pouring outside, the full-time whistle was greeted with shouts of delight from Bayern’s players which echoed around the empty 42,000-capacity stadium, a far cry from previous title celebrations before the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is sensational the kind of football we have played in the past few months,” said coach Hansi Flick, a four-time Bundesliga winner with Bayern as a player. “You could feel the passion, the joy for the game and the team spirit.”
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