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Bayern clinch title

Jefferson ChaseMay 7, 2016

They may have waited until the penultimate week of the season, but in the end Bayern got the job done. A win over Ingolstadt handed the Bavarians a fourth straight Bundesliga crown - and their 26th German title.

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Bayern München Deutscher Meister 2016 Gruppenbild Bundesliga
Image: Getty Images/C.Stache

Bayern came into the match against their smaller neighbors looking to take out some frustration at the Champions League exit midweek and trying to avoid a must-win situation in their final match of the season next week. Pep Guardiola fielded pretty much his A-team, resting only Arturo Vidal and Jerome Boateng from the Atletico match.

And it took only a quarter of an hour for Bayern to show their superiority. Douglas Costa ran rampant in midfield, passing to Franck Ribery. The Frenchman held on the ball too long, failing to spot Robert Lewandowski, but was brought down in the area. Lewandowski converted humorlessly from the spot.

If there was any Bayern player determined to let off some steam - productively - it was the Polish striker. Fifteen minutes later, he squeezed the ball in from a snooker-level angle to double Munich's lead.

Bayern grind out victory

Ingolstadt could easily have fallen apart. Instead, immediately after the 2-0, Matthew Leckie snuck in behind the Bayern back four and was only denied by a sliding Manuel Neuer. And in minute 42, Ingolstadt did get a lifeline after Xabi Alonso brought down Mo Hartmann in the box. Hartmann blasted home to make it 2-1 at half-time - it was his seventh converted penalty this season.

In the second half, Ingolstadt were worthy opponents, matching Bayern for shots, if not for possession. Bayern seemed to have shifted down a gear or three, perhaps knowing that second-placed Dortmund were losing to Frankfurt.

Bayern hardly turned in a vintage performance, but perhaps emblematically for this season, less than Munich's best proved to be good enough. Pep Guardiola's men killed the clock to rack up the 2-1 victory. Meanwhile Dortmund went down to a 1-0 defeat in Frankfurt.

Those results left Bayern on 85 points, compared to Dortmund's 77, with but one round to play. The only thing missing was the traditional celebratory showers of wheat beer. Bayern did without that ceremony after capturing threir 26th title.