Bayern Munich clinched a 35th league title on Sunday by beating Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena – but could this prove to be the most impressive triumph of them all?
After nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund fell to defeat at Hoffenheim on Saturday, Bayern needed only a draw to win a 13th title in 14 seasons.
But, as has been the case all season, they turned on the style and came from behind to beat Champions League-chasing Stuttgart 4-2.
Victory keeps Bayern’s hopes of winning the Treble alive, with semi-finals against Bayer Leverkusen in the German Cup and Paris St-Germain in the Champions League to come this month.
BBC Sport takes a closer look at the numbers behind Bayern’s dominant campaign.
The best team in Bundesliga history?
When Bayern began the season by thrashing RB Leipzig 6-0, it felt like an early warning to the rest of the Bundesliga.
England captain Harry Kane, who scored a hat-trick, Michael Olise and summer signing Luis Diaz were on the scoresheet as Bayern swatted Ole Werner’s team aside on home soil.
Over the next 29 games that trio evolved into one of the most formidable forward lines the Bundesliga has seen, driving Bayern to a record 109 goals.
Kane, Olise and Diaz have scored 59 of those.
In the history of the Bundesliga, only two teams had previously reached the 100-goal mark – Bayern in 1971-72 and 2019-20.
The fact that Vincent Kompany’s side have surpassed that tally with four games remaining is testament to their quality and relentless mentality.
With three of their final matches coming against bottom-half opposition, including second-bottom Wolfsburg and bottom club Heidenheim, Bayern will have their sights set on pushing towards 120 goals.
But it is not just in attack where Bayern have excelled this season. The 35-time champions have been equally impressive at the back, conceding only 29 goals.
Should they win their remaining matches, they would equal the record for the most points in a Bundesliga season – 91, set by Jupp Heynckes’ Treble-winning Bayern 13 years ago.
‘You have to be winning major trophies’
It was only fitting that Kane scored on a historic afternoon in Munich on Sunday.
There have been several standout performers for Bayern this season, but none more so than the number nine.
It was only two years ago that Kane was being challenged about his decision to move to Germany as Bayern ended a season trophyless for the first time in 12 years.
But fast forward to the present day and Kane has not only helped his side return to the summit of German football by winning back-to-back titles, but has also put himself in contention to win football’s most prestigious individual accolade – the Ballon d’Or – after netting 32 goals in 27 Bundesliga appearances this term.
No player in Europe’s top five leagues has managed more goals than Kane’s 50 in all competitions.
Now in his third season at Bayern, Kane is also delivering in the Champions League.
This month he scored home and away against Real Madrid in the quarter‑finals to help Bayern reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2024, while equalling Frank Lampard as the highest‑scoring Englishman in the knockout stages of the competition with 15 goals.
“I could score 100 goals this season, but if I don’t win the Champions League or the World Cup, you’re probably not going to win the Ballon d’Or,” said Kane in November.
“It’s the same with any player. You have to be winning those major trophies.”
If he can help Bayern to a seventh Champions League title and play a leading role for England at this summer’s World Cup, Kane would surely have a strong case to become the first Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or since Michael Owen in 2001.
2013, 2020… and 2026?
Bayern’s attention will now turn to completing the Treble for only the third time in their history after 2013 and 2020.
“In the way we play, we’ve learned and evolved over the last 12 months,” Kane said last month.
“A lot of people forgot it was Kompany’s first year last year. We were still learning the way he wanted to play. We were still learning different ideas from him.
“We’ve really honed in on his ideas now, and for sure we’re a better team this year than we were last year.”
If Bayern win two more trophies this season, they would become the first European men’s team to win the Treble three times.
