German Bundesliga
May 1, 2010
Munich can already start chilling the champagne to celebrate the title after a convincing win against relegation candidate Bochum, thanks to the hat-trick by Thomas Mueller.
Second-placed Schalke is now effectively out of the running after going down 2-0 at home against Bremen. The Royal Blues are now three points adrift of Munich with just one match remaining. Munich also has the vastly better goal difference.
The victory means that Munich's Dutch coach, Louis van Gaal, will get to take home the trophy in his first season with the team. The win also means that Munich is on track for a "triple crown" season: German league title, German Cup and Champions League.
Saturday's victory comes five days after Bayern beat Olympique Lyon 3-0 to set up a Champions League final against Inter Milan on May 22 in Madrid.
After Ivica Olic scored a hat-trick against Lyon, it was Mueller who stole the limelight with his treble in Munich's Allianz Arena.
In other games on the penultimate day of the Bundesliga, Berlin sealed its fate as the first team to be relegated to the second division with a draw in Leverkusen, after Hanover demolished Moenchengladbach at home, 6-1.
Hamburg bounced back from last week's Europa League exit with a resounding 4-0 win over Nuremberg, which, like Bochum and Hanover, is another prospective candidate for relegation.
Freiburg saved itself going down by drawing 2-2 in Cologne.
Stuttgart kept its chances alive for the Europa League with a 2-2 tie against Mainz, while Dortmund-Wolfsburg ended in a one-all draw.
gb/sid/AFP/dpa
Editor: Kyle James