Bayern Munich are so close to clinching their 27th Bundesliga title, you can almost smell the beer flowing throughout Bavaria. Jupp Heynckes’ men are on the verge of conquering an unprecedented sixth straight domestic crown, a record run marked by key milestone moments.
bundesliga.com recalls the games that shaped Bayern’s successful 2017/18 campaign...
Matchday 5: Schalke 0-3 Bayern
The signing of star playmaker James Rodriguez for Bayern was the biggest story of the summer in Germany, but the Colombian ace had a rough start to his Bundesliga career. A late pre-season injury sidelined him for the first two matches of the campaign and his debut as a substitute against Hoffenheim on Matchday 3 ended in a 2-0 defeat. On his first league start, James made a loud and clear statement at Schalke by scoring his first goal, providing an assist and putting on a masterclass in footballing wizardry. The cloud of doubts murking the shine of Bayern’s star dissipated for good that night.
Watch: James Rodriguez steals the headlines against Schalke
Matchday 8: Bayern 5-0 Freiburg
While James’ explosion was a huge boost to the squad, coach Carlo Ancelotti was still not able to recover from an early season tailspin that saw the Bavarian giants fall five points behind Borussia Dortmund in the early standings and suffer a 3-0 loss at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. The Italian was dismissed and Heynckes, the architect of Bayern’s legendary 2012/13 treble campaign, came out of retirement to steer the ship back on course. The team responded to the managerial change with a convincing performance over Freiburg and a scoreline to match (5-0).
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