Bayern Munich celebrates Bundesliga title with last home win for Mueller

By Canadian Press on May 10, 2025.

BERLIN (AP) — Bayern Munich celebrated the Bundesliga title it won last weekend by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 in Thomas Müller’s last home game for the club on Saturday.

Michael Olise scored one goal and set up the other for Harry Kane’s league-leading 25th of the season to get the party underway in Munich. Bayern was to be presented with the Bundesliga trophy after the game.

Relegation decided

Bochum and Holstein Kiel were relegated while Leipzig’s hopes of Champions League qualification were over after drawing at Werder Bremen 0-0.

Last-placed Bochum lost at home to Mainz 4-1, and Kiel lost at home 2-1 to Freiburg, which consolidated fourth place and was well-placed for Champions League qualification.

Leipzig’s scoreless draw in Bremen left it four points behind Freiburg with one round remaining, meaning it can no longer qualify for Europe’s lucrative premier competition.

Neither Bochum nor Kiel have any possibility of catching third-from-bottom Heidenheim following the latter’s 3-0 win at Union Berlin. Heidenheim made sure of at least a relegation playoff place.

With one game left to play, Bochum had 22 points, Kiel 25, and Heidenheim 29 – just two behind St. Pauli, which had two matches remaining. St. Pauli plays its penultimate match at third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

Bochum needed to avoid defeat and hope for a favor from Union against Heidenheim at the same time. But Mainz was 3-0 up before Bochum scored. Mainz confirmed Bochum’s seventh demotion from the top division.

Bochum was promoted to the Bundesliga as the second division champion in 2021, ending an 11-year absence from the top division.

Bochum defeated Bayern 3-2 away in March, but it was Dieter Hecking’s team’s only win in its last 11 games.

“I’ve been relegated before, it’s anything but nice. You could see it with the lads, tears were flowing,” Bochum captain Maximilian Wittek said. “It’s among the worst things that can happen in football.”

Kiel also gone

Kiel was promoted for the first time only last season and coach Marcel Rapp’s team has quickly returned to the second division.

Kiel scored first but Johan Manzambi equalized before the break and Lucas Höler headed Freiburg toward the Champions League.

Freiburg moved four points clear of Borussia Dortmund, which visits Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday for Xabi Alonso’s last home game as Leverkusen coach. A Leverkusen win would send Freiburg to the Champions League.

Later, Hamburger SV had the chance to be promoted back to the division with a win at home against Ulm in the second division. Thousands of blue-clad fans greeted the team bus on its way to the stadium with songs, flags and flares.

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

Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press

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