Bayern Munich Close To First Leg Of Treble

Bayern Munich are on the brink of winning the Bundesliga after Bastian Schweinsteiger’s goal gave them a hard-fought victory over Hertha Berlin.

Bayern are 15 points clear and will secure the title on Sunday if Wolfsburg fail to beat Borussia Monchengladbach.

Midfielder Schweinsteiger provided the game’s decisive moment 10 minutes from time with an emphatic finish.

Pep Guardiola’s treble-chasing side are also in the semi-finals of the German Cup and Champions League.

Bayern failed to hit the heights of their 6-1 demolition of Porto in the European Cup quarter-finals during the week against Hertha.

The visitors, who were on a seven-match unbeaten run, almost took the lead after the break when Nico Schulz found himself through on goal only for Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to save superbly.

Robert Lewandowski’s header then brought a fine stop out of Hertha goalkeeper Sascha Burchert – who made his first Bundesliga start in five years.

But Bayern secured the points when Mitchell Weiser’s low cross picked out Schweinsteiger inside the box and he clinically dispatched it past Burchert.

Elsewhere, a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty and a goal from Shinji Kagawa gave Borussia Dortmund a 2-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Pierre-Michel Lasogga struck twice as Hamburg boosted their survival hopes with a 3-2 win over Augsburg.

A brace from Nils Petersen saw Freiburg earn a point against fellow strugglers Stuttgart as they fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2.

Meanwhile, Hoffenheim won 2-1 at Hannover while Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 1-1 draw at Cologne.

BBC SPORTS