Bayern Munich veteran Thomas Mueller can win his 13th league title with victory at RB Leipzig on Saturday, as his summer departure after 25 seasons at the club draws near. Eight points clear of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen with three games remaining, Bayern will clinch the title if they beat Leipzig this weekend. Bayern’s last league win at Leipzig came in 2021. If the Bavarians falter, they will still wrap up the Bundesliga crown if Leverkusen fail to beat Freiburg on Sunday. Another league title would be a fitting farewell for Mueller, who joined Bayern aged just 10 and played his 500th Bundesliga game last week. A one-club player, Mueller has amassed a remarkable 32 trophies with Bayern, including two Champions Leagues, but will leave at the end of the season after he was not offered a contract extension. No player has ever won 13 Bundesliga titles and only Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs has hit that mark in any of Europe’s top five leagues. “It sounds good doesn’t it?” Mueller said of the record in an interview with the Bundesliga website on Wednesday. “I won my first title in 2010. You’re holding something heavy in your hands and it gives you the feeling that it’s not really easy to win the thing. “There’s always a lot of work and you have to perform over a long period. “That’s why the satisfaction when you win the league trophy is greater than the Champions League or the German Cup.” With his departure edging closer, Mueller has been celebrated by fans at home and away, but has been quick to remind everyone he is not on a farewell tour — and that there is a title at stake. “On the topic of pride, I’m someone who lives life looking forward rather than looking back too much,” said Mueller. “Looking back is nice and then you can toast to it and ask: ‘What are you doing tomorrow?'” At the other end of the table, Bochum will be the first side relegated if they lose at Heidenheim on Friday. Bochum’s struggles this season have come not against the top teams, but against mid-table sides and fellow relegation battlers. Bochum have only won two of their past 14 games, but those wins came against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Veteran coach Dieter Hecking said his side should have “no fear”, adding “it’s a final and one we’re hugely anticipating.” Perhaps no player better illustrates Borussia Dortmund’s turnaround under coach Niko Kovac than much maligned defender Niklas Suele. A European champion with Bayern in 2020 and a former fixture in Germany’s central defence, Suele has struggled for club and country since his high-profile move to Dortmund in 2022. But Kovac, who in his introductory press conference promised to return the centre-back to Germany reckoning, has Suele back in form. The 29-year-old started just three times from October to April but has been in the line-up in each of Dortmund’s past four matches in all competitions, coinciding with three wins and a draw. Suele’s performances, along with injuries to Germany centre-backs Nico Schlotterbeck and Antonio Rudiger, have him in the frame for a call-up for the Nations League finals in June. 36 – St Pauli sit 14th, but they have conceded just 36 goals — only Bayern and Leverkusen have allowed fewer. 13 – In their past five games, Dortmund have picked up 13 points to keep their top-four hopes alive. 15 – Having won five of their past seven, Werder Bremen are two points off the European places. The 2009 UEFA Cup finalists last played in Europe 15 years ago. Fixtures (1330 GMT unless stated) Friday Heidenheim v Bochum (1830) Saturday Borussia Moenchengladbach v Hoffenheim, Union Berlin v Werder Bremen, RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich, St Pauli v Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund v Wolfsburg (1630) Sunday Augsburg v Holstein Kiel, Freiburg v Bayer Leverkusen (1530), Mainz v Eintracht Frankfurt (1730) The post Mueller eyes one final title as Bayern exit draws near appeared first on The Namibian.

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 on Sunday 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. 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’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. 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 on Saturday, 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. The post Kane tastes first title as champions Bayern see off Mueller appeared first on The Namibian.

Thomas Müller is Bayern Munich’s all-time appearance leader with no less than 756 competitive outings for the club. With the team's exit from the...