Bayern's women win Bundesliga title for sixth time

Bayern Munich's women's team became German champions for the sixth time on Saturday after retaining the Bundesliga title.

The 2-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen means the team of Norwegian coach Alexander Straus can no longer be displaced from top spot in the final two games.

Bayern won the title at the club which beat the Bayern men's team to the title this year after 11 straight trophies for the Bavarians.

Bayern's women are unbeaten in 37 league games over the course of two seasons since their 2-1 defeat at perennial rivals VfL Wolfsburg in October 2022.

Wolfsburg are also their opponents in the German Women's Cup final in Cologne on Thursday.

Wolfsburg have won the cup nine times in a row, Bayern only once before in 2012.

"I need a bit of time to process this," Bayern defender Katharina Naschenweng said after the win in Leverkusen. She had one eye on the cup final and said there were no big party plans.

"We have still got an important game this week."

Last season, Leverkusen held Bayern to a 0-0 draw to prevent them from celebrating the championship prematurely. This time, under the watchful eyes of Bayern president Herbert Hainer and future Germany national coach Christian Wück, it quickly became clear this would not happen again.

England's European champion Georgia Stanway (18th minute) and Germany international Linda Dallmann (27th) scored before the break in front of 2,817 spectators in the sold-out Ulrich Haberland Stadium.

Nikola Karczewska reduced the deficit for Leverkusen (63) but the Bavarians hung on.

Hainer said: "It's a reward for a whole year of hard work and also an expression of the fact that this team is maturing and undergoing an impressive development."

Second-placed Wolfsburg won 5-1 against Cologne on Friday to put pressure on Bayern but it ended up being in vain.