Domestically, it was all rather easy for Pep Guardiola during his timeĀ in Germany as Bayern Munich manager. Three seasons, three Bundesliga titles and two German Cups.
Each of those leagueĀ triumphs was achieved by a margin of double-figure points, and it was on this day, in 2015, that Guardiola successfully defended the BundesligaĀ title for the first time while guidingĀ Bayern to a quarter-century of league titles, theirĀ 24th Bundesliga shield. The club's first title, in 1932, was for what was then called the German football championship.
The writing was arguably on the wall from November the previous season when Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker who was so central to keepingĀ Borussia Dortmund competitive with Bayern, announced he was to join the Bavarian giants the following summer.
At the very least, it proved damaging to Dortmund's cause as the club finished the 2014/15 campaign in seventh, a whopping 33 points behind Bayern in what was to be Jurgen Klopp's final year.
For Lewandowski and Bayern, the move was an immediate success, with the forward scoring 25Ā goals in all competitionsĀ in his debut season. Since then, the Poland international has gone on to be one of the club's finest ever goalscorers.
It was Wolfsburg, led by BelgianĀ star Kevin De Bruyne and his 21 assists, that emerged as Bayern's biggest challengers, but once Bayern assumed top spotĀ in the league standings after Round 5, there was noĀ letting up.
After a runĀ of 24 wins, four draws, and two defeats, Bayern had opened up a 15-point lead over Wolfsburg, who needed to avoid defeatĀ against Borussia Monchengladbach on April 26 toĀ delay Bayern's title celebrations. However, a 1-0 defeat handed the Bavarians their inevitable title.
After such a dominant league campaign, Bayern's season ended somewhat in a whimper. They lost three of their last four Bundesliga games, fellĀ to Dortmund on penalties in the German Cup semi-finals, and were eliminated by Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals.
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Bayern Munich train as German ministry asks players to wear masks
