Bayern Munich win 25th title

Bayern Munich became the first team to win the Bundesliga 25 times when they lifted the trophy on matchday 30, being crowned as champions for the fourth successive season.

Their success was built on a strong defence, breaking the records for most games without conceding (22) and most clean sheets (20 for Manuel Neuer).

Pep Guardiola’s side won the title by 10 points, ahead of Wolfsburg, who outperformed expectations thanks to the performances of Belgian attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who was involved in 30 goals for the Wolves, setting the Bundesliga assists record.

Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen also finished in the Champions League spots, with Augsburg, Schalke, and an inconsistent Borussia Dortmund qualifying for the Europa League.

CHANGES

Despite winning the league in the previous season, Guardiola sought to further strengthen Bayern Munich, bringing in Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund to replace Mario Mandzukic.

An injury to Javi Martinez in the Supercup left Guardiola needing a replacement in midfield, with Xabi Alonso moving from Real Madrid before the end of the transfer window. Toni Kroos went the other direction, moving to La Liga after playing over 200 games for the Bavarian side.

Dortmund attempted to fill the Lewandowski void with Adrian Ramos and Ciro Immobile, but neither made a big impact in the Bundesliga, causing Jurgen Klopp to play Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at centre-forward rather than on the wing.

Bayer Leverkusen started their transfer activity early, signing Josip Drmic in early May following Nurnberg’s relegation. Having qualified for the Champions League, Leverkusen were able to keep the core of their squad together and suffered no major exits during the summer as Roger Schmidt took over as head coach from interim boss Sacha Lewandowski.

Lucien Favre’s Borussia Monchengladbach saw young goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen leave for Barcelona for €12 million, and turned to Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer to…

Source link : https://www.footballcritic.com/season-reviews/bayern-munich-win-25th-title-the-bundesliga-in-2014-15/118

Author : [email protected] (Martin Macdonald)

Publish date : 2024-08-03 14:00:00

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