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Rediff.com  » Sports » PIX: Bayern Munich win Bundesliga, PSG secure Ligue 1

PIX: Bayern Munich win Bundesliga, PSG secure Ligue 1

Last updated on: April 24, 2022 08:30 IST
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Bayern Munich win 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown with three games to spare.

PSG have now won eight of the last 10 Ligue 1 titles, having only been denied by Monaco in 2017 and Lille last year.

Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann celebrates with his players after beating Borussia Dortmund and winning the Bundesliga, at Allianz Arena, in Munich, Germany, on Saturday.

IMAGE: Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann celebrates with his players after beating Borussia Dortmund and winning the Bundesliga, at Allianz Arena, in Munich, Germany, on Saturday. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare.

First-half goals from Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski put the hosts 2-0 up before Emre Can cut the deficit with a 52nd-minute penalty. Jamal Musiala got Bayern's third goal seven minutes from the end

Bayern, 12 points clear of second-placed Dortmund, have now won 31 Bundesliga titles since the introduction of the top division in 1963, and 32 German league crowns in all, while Thomas Mueller became the first player to win 11 league titles.

"Just for these moments... this is the best," Mueller said. "We really wanted to win it here. There was a lot of frustration in the past days and we could play it off today."

Jamal Musiala celebrates scoring Bayern Munich's third goal with teammates.

IMAGE: Jamal Musiala celebrates scoring Bayern Munich's third goal with teammates. Photograph: Andreas Gebert/Reuters

Bayern were desperate to seal the title -- their only silverware of the season -- in the league's big game in front of a 75,000-strong home crowd to make up for their Champions League quarter-final shock exit to Villarreal earlier this month.

"This is not boring," Mueller said of Bayern's domestic dominance. "This is outstanding. The more you win the greedier you get every year."

They took their first chance through Gnabry, who controlled the ball at the edge of the box with one touch and released a fierce volley past keeper Marwin Hitz, left frozen on the spot.

Gnabry put the ball in the net again on the half-hour mark but his effort was ruled offside. League top scorer Lewandowski did better in the 34th when Gnabry gained possession and Mueller fed the Pole who slotted in through the legs of Hitz for his 33rd league goal.

Lewandowski, whose future at the club is in doubt with a contract extension past his current 2023 deal still to be finalised, is on track to be the Bundesliga top scorer for a seventh time and the fifth straight time.

Dortmund were awarded a penalty at the start of the second half when Marco Reus was felled by Joshua Kimmich and Can converted it. The visitors kept up the pressure but failed to score again despite efforts from Reus and Erling Haaland.

Instead it was Bayern who scored through substitute Musiala to make sure of the title as the champagne came out in the box seats for the Bayern club bosses and coach Julian Nagelsmann celebrated his first league crown.

Dortmund are on 63 points with third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on 55.

PSG secure record-equalling 10th French title despite Lens draw

Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Paris St Germain's first goal with Marquinhos during the  Ligue 1 match against RC Lens, at  Parc des Princes, in Paris, France, on Saturday.

IMAGE: Lionel Messi celebrates scoring Paris St Germain's first goal with Marquinhos during the Ligue 1 match against RC Lens, at Parc des Princes, in Paris, France, on Saturday. Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters

Paris St Germain secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man RC Lens on Saturday.

Lionel Messi's goal was cancelled out by Corentin Jean as PSG were left on 78 points, 16 ahead of second-placed Olympique de Marseille who will play their game in hand at Stade de Reims on Sunday.

PSG have now won eight of the last 10 Ligue 1 titles, having only been denied by Monaco in 2017 and Lille last year.

PSG equalled the record set by St Etienne, who won 10 top flight titles between 1957 and 1981.

Real Betis hold nerve to beat Valencia on penalties in Copa del Rey final

Real Betis held their nerve to win a penalty shootout 5-4 and edge out Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday after a thrilling contest had ended 1-1 following extra time at a packed La Cartuja stadium.

In a classic free-flowing encounter full of goalscoring chances and remarkable saves, it was hard to separate the two sides who maintained a frantic pace throughout the 120 minutes.

Yunus Musah missed Valencia's fourth spotkick to give Betis a 5-4 win on penalties.

Earlier, Hugo Duro’s 30th-minute goal had cancelled out Borja Iglesias' opener for Betis.

Real Betis' breathtaking win in their Seville hometown secured them their first major trophy since they won the same title in 2005.

It was a well fought clash of styles between Betis's possession-based, attacking mentality and Valencia's solid defensive block and vertical speedy transitions on the counter-attack.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side dominated possession with Copa del Rey top goalscorer and final's MVP Borja Iglesias as the main threat, but Valencia was a constant menace to their opponents on the counter-attack, with Hugo Duro creating all kinds of trouble to Betis’ defense.

"To win this title after so many years at our town and in-front our fans is a wonderful thing," captain Joaquin told reporters in tears before lifting the trophy and becoming the first player to win two titles with Betis' colors as he was in the field 17 years ago.

"I think it is the work of many years, of getting things little by little, building from a lot of effort. Congratulations to Valencia because if they had won they would be deserved winners, it was an amazing game."

The 40-years-old Joaquin announced last November that this would be his final season after 21 consecutive years of top-flight football and will leave after helping his beloved Betis to win only their fourth title as they have only won the 1935 League, the 1977 Cup and the aforementioned 2005 Cup in their 115-year history.

Betis started strong and Iglesias' opener came 11 minutes into the game with a close-range header into the roof of the net from a perfectly placed cross from the right touchline by former Arsenal flaker Eric Bellerin.

When the locals looked in control, Hugo Duro scored the equalizer with a lightning fast counter-attack started by Ilaix Moriba who delivered a brilliant through pass to Duro in space behind Betis’ defensive line. The striker entered the area unchallenged and lobbed the ball over Claudio Bravo to score with an ice-cold touch with his left-foot.

Betis almost scored a few minutes later as a powerful long-range strike from Sergio Canales exploded off Giorgi Mamardashvili's left post.

Valencia came back on fire after the break and had three clear chances to score in the first eight minutes, with Bravo making two incredible stops from Duro and Moriba missing another one well wide from inside the box.

But Betis slowly took back control and made plenty of chances of their own, with Mamardashvili shining with at least four brilliant stops in the final minutes of regulation, holding the deadlock to extra-time.

With players exhausted after 90 minutes of non-stop action, both teams took a step back in extra time and the game went to a penalty shootout, where the 19-years-old American midfielder was the only one to miss.

"Soccer is very beautiful but it is also very cruel sometimes," Valencia captain Jose Gaya told reporters.

"It's doubly sad because we lost the cup and a chance to qualify for the Europa League. We leave here today very disappointed, although very proud."

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