5 key dates from Bayern Munich's historic title triumph
Bayern Munich strolled to yet another Bundesliga victory this weekend - a 2-1 win over FC Ingolstadt - to secure its fourth consecutive title in the German top flight.
Under Pep Guardiola - who announced midway through the campaign he will join Manchester City next season - Bayern carried on as always, picking up wins with huge scorelines while balancing life in the Champions League knockout stages.
With the league now wrapped up, here's a look back at the dates that helped Bayern Munich retain its Bundesliga crown:
September 12, 2015: Bayern 2-1 Augsburg
Bayern Munich started the season off as well as one could imagine, picking up three consecutive wins including a 5-0 drubbing on opening day against Hamburg and a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, but the Bavarians came close to dropping points on the fourth matchday during a home match against FC Augsburg.
Alexander Esswein had given Augsburg a 1-0 lead at the stroke of half-time, but Robert Lewandowski equalised in the second half. The two teams looked set to split the points until Bayern was awarded a 90th-minute penalty when Douglas Costa ran into an Augsburg defender. Thomas Muller tucked the effort away to give Bayern a 2-1 lead.
That controversial call gave Bayern all three points and preserved its winning streak, which the club carried on for the next seven matches.
September 22, 2015: Bayern 5-1 Wolfsburg
Few matches made as much a statement toward Bayern's title charge as the 5-1 drubbing the Bavarians served to challengers Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena. This is the contest in which Lewandowski scored five unanswered goals in nine minutes of play, after all.
Down 1-0 after Daniel Caligiuri's 26th-minute striker, Guardiola introduced the Polish forward into the match at half-time, and Lewandowski immediately made his presence felt, scoring in the 51st, 52nd, 55th, 57th, and 60th minute.
Related - Watch: Lewandowski scores 5 goals in 9 minutes as Bayern obliterates Wolfsburg
It was a record-breaking moment in Bundesliga history and one of the most incredible scenes in the 2015-16 season. And it struck fear into the hearts and minds of Bayern's opponents, too.
October 4, 2015: Bayern 5-1 Dortmund
Speaking of 5-1 wins, Bayern Munich also dispatched another key opponent by that scoreline, as the high-flying Borussia Dortmund visited the Allianz Arena coming off a pair of lackluster draws.
Dortmund had started the season well enough, picking up five wins in a row and scoring 18 goals over that span, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan playing particularly well. As such, the two teams went into the match vying for the top spot in the table.
Dortmund's players were unable to make a statement of their intentions on the day, as Muller, Lewandowski, and Mario Gotze scored to give Guardiola's side a resounding win.
December 19, 2015: FC Koln 2-1 Dortmund
Dortmund's season wasn't without its merit. In fact, it represented marked improvement upon a miserable 2014-15 campaign. Still, in looking back at the season that was, Dortmund might look at a 2-1 loss to 1. FC Koln at the RheinEnergieSTADION as one of the stumbling blocks of the season.
Dortmund held a 1-0 lead through the first 81 minutes of the match, but conceded an equaliser to Simon Zoller in the 82nd minute. The two teams looked set for a 1-1 draw before Koln striker Anthony Modeste did this:
March 5, 2016: Bayern 0-0 Dortmund
With 10 matches remaining in the campaign and just five points separating the two title challengers at the Westfalenstadion, Bayern managed to stave off Dortmund one final time to keep the gap wide and their lead intact.
A week after having its 17-game undefeated streak at home come to an end, and coming off an injury crisis to its back line, Bayern rallied with a solid defensive performance in what was otherwise a lackluster match.
Following this match, Bayern went undefeated for eight more matches, concluding its triumph with a 2-1 win away at Ingolstadt. The club will celebrate its successes in front of the home crowd at Allianz Arena versus Hannover to conclude the season.
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