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Rediff.com  » Sports » Bayern Munich inch closer to Bundesliga title

Bayern Munich inch closer to Bundesliga title

May 01, 2010 22:30 IST
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Bayern Munich effectively won the Bundesliga on Saturday when a Thomas Mueller hat-trick gave them a 3-1 win over VfL Bochum while rivals Schalke 04 lost 2-0 at home to Werder Bremen.

The win took treble-chasing Bayern three points clear of Schalke with a one game left and a 17-goal difference over their rivals, making it all but impossible for them to be caught.

Louis van Gaal's team have also reached the final of the German Cup, where they face Werder Bremen, and the Champions League, where they play Inter Milan.

Van Gaal has already won league titles with three clubs in two countries and Bayern will clinch their 22nd German title after last winning in 2007-8.

Mueller chested the ball home in the 18th minute and headed his second two minutes later against a Bochum team who fired coach Heiko Herrlich only 48 hours before the kickoff. He added the third midway through the second half before the visitors pulled one back through Christian Fuchs.

Mesut Ozil and Hugo Almeida scored second-half goals in Gelsenkirchen to leave Schalke 04 contemplating their fourth second-place finish since 2001.

The formality of completing the first part of the treble will be complete when Bayern visit Hertha Berlin next Saturday.

Ivica Olic, scorer of a hat-trick in the 3-0 win at Olympique Lyon which sent the Germans to the Champions League final on Tuesday, missed a couple of early chances as Bayern took control.

The Croatia forward shot wide with only goalkeeper Philipp Heerwagen to beat and failed to make contact when Franck Ribery's low cross flew across the face of the goal.

But the goal was only a matter of time and Mueller provided it by chesting the ball over the line after Philipp Lahm's low cross beat Heerwagen.

Two minutes later, Mueller headed the second after Ribery sidefooted Lahm's high cross back across the face of the goal.

Mueller was denied a hat-trick when his shot hit the post early in the second half from Ribery's incisive pass.

But he was not to be denied and, in the 69th minute, collected an Mark van Bommel pass, sidestepped Bochum challenge and slotted the ball past Heerwagen.

Dariusz Wosz took charge of relegation-threatened Bochum, becoming the team's fourth coach, including interims, of the season.

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Source: REUTERS
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