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Berlin, April 26 (IANS) Bastian Schweinsteiger's late winner moved German football giants Bayern Munich 1-0 past Hertha Berlin while Bayer Leverkusen were held to 1-1 draw by FC Koln in the 30th round of Bundesliga.
Front-runners Bayern Munich reaped a hard earned 1-0 victory over Berlin on Saturday to theoretically seal their Bundesliga title this season. If runner-up Wolfsburg drop points on Sunday, Bayern wrap up their 25th Bundesliga title four rounds ahead of the season's final.
However, it was all but an easy win for the German champions who were unable to overcome Berlin's well-positioned defence. Berlin defended deep while coach Pep Guardiola's men lacked in penetration and ideas to break the deadlock.
After the restart, Berlin nearly caught the hosts flat footed but goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was alert to the danger and averted it with a smart save at the 54th minute.
The promising chance for Berlin was a wake-up call for the Bavarians who piled on the pressure to work out opportunities through striker Robert Lewandowski and Schweinsteiger. Yet, Bayern were denied by Berlin's goalkeeper Sascha Buchert.
However, it was Schweinsteiger who scored the decider from inside the box into the top right corner following an assist by youngster Mitchell Weiser, who shrugged off four Berlin defender on 80 minutes.
Bayern lead the Bundesliga standings with 15 points and four games left while Berlin stay on the 13th place with 34 points.
"We are almost Bundesliga champions. I am incredibly proud of the team because it was a difficult game. Nevertheless, we now have to focus on the other competitions," Pep Guardiola said.
Leverkusen's winning streak of seven games came to an end as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a resilient Koln team. The draw is a setback for third-placed Leverkusen in the race for a Champions League berth.
With the draw, both teams remain at their positions for the moment. Leverkusen stayed in the third position with 55 points and Cologne on the 12th place with 35 points.
Ninth-placed Dortmund cruised to a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt increasing their hopes for a ticket for the Europa League. It's Dortmund's second win in a row whereas Frankfurt wait for their first win in five games.
Coach Juergen Klopp's men reaped two second-half goals to put the result beyond doubt against Frankfurt.
Elsewhere, bottom side Hamburg edged sixth-placed VFL Augsburg 3-2, snatching crucial points to climb to the relegation play-off spot. Ten-men Stuttgart suffered a setback in their relegation battle as they wasted a 2-0 lead to sharing the spoils with Freiburg.
Hoffenheim return to winning ways after four winless matches as they defeated Hannover, winless in 2015 so far, 2-1.
