Kane tastes first title as champions Bayern bid farewell to Mueller
MUNICH, May 11 — Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club.
Bayern officially won the title today when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time.
Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was 'an incredible feeling,' and hoped it would be 'the first of many'.
'It's been lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice in between, for moments like this—to enjoy it with the team, enjoy it with the fans. I'm loving every minute,' said the England captain.
Kane opened the scoring 31 minutes in, heading in a curling Michael Olise shot for his 25th goal of the league campaign.
With Bayern lacking their usual energy, Gladbach had several chances to equalise but were let down by poor finishing. Olise tapped in from close range to score a goal of his own in the final minute, sealing the occasion.
In his 750th game in all competitions for the club, Mueller—who will leave Bayern after 25 years in the summer—went close to scoring but had his shot saved in the 57th minute.
The 35-year-old was subbed off with seven minutes remaining, hugging his teammates as reserves and members of staff rushed to form a guard of honour. Mueller won a record 13 Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues at Bayern.
Speaking with Sky Germany, Mueller said: 'I can't really work it through in my mind at the moment,' but said he was touched by '75,000 hearts which were beating just a little bit for me'.
Kane said he was 'proud' to play with Mueller, calling the veteran 'a legend in football and a legend at this club'.
Kane's long-time England and Tottenham teammate Eric Dier, who will join Monaco in the summer, was also given a send-off before the match.
Leipzig 'disappointed', Bochum and Kiel relegated
RB Leipzig's top-four hopes were dashed with a goalless draw at Werder Bremen as Holstein Kiel and Bochum were relegated from the Bundesliga after both fell to home defeats.
Leipzig had only missed the Champions League once in eight seasons since their debut promotion in 2017 but struggled against a Bremen side pushing for a return to Europe after a 15-year absence.
Leipzig's Xavi Simons went closest to scoring, hitting the post with 68 minutes gone and forcing a save from goalie Michael Zetterer two minutes later.
'It's extremely disappointing,' Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner said.
'It's matchday 33 and we didn't make it. There's no point sugarcoating it—we don't deserve the Champions League.'
The result means Jurgen Klopp, the new football chief at owners Red Bull, will oversee his first off-season without the promise of the Champions League.
Leipzig need to beat Stuttgart in their final match to have any hope of reaching the Europa League, while Bremen's European hopes are now purely mathematical given their poor goal difference.
Heidenheim's 3-0 win at Union Berlin yesterday, thanks to a brace from Adrian Beck and a Jan Schoeppner goal, secured at least the relegation play-off spot for the 16th-placed side.
Kiel, promoted to the top flight for the first time this season, needed to win to keep their hopes alive and scored first but conceded twice to go down 2-1 against Freiburg.
Lasse Rosenboom's counter-attacking opener was cancelled out by a Johan Manzambi equaliser just before half-time.
Lucas Hoeler replaced Manzambi at half-time and scored early in the second period, heading in from close range to give Freiburg the lead.
The victory puts Freiburg in pole position to play Champions League for the first time next season.
Freiburg sit four points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who have two games to play.
Bochum's four-year stint in the Bundesliga came to an end after a 4-1 loss to Mainz, who scored through Germany duo Nadiem Amiri and Jonathan Burkardt, along with Phillipp Mwene and Paul Nebel.
Bochum, who had just two points in December but kept their hopes alive with a run of good results including wins over Bayern Munich and Dortmund, picked up just two points from their last eight games.
Bayer Leverkusen host Dortmund on Sunday in coach Xabi Alonso's last home game with the club. — AFP
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