Munich, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - Bayern Munich is on the cusp of clinching a third straight Bundesliga title after the club edged Hertha Berlin, 1-0, at the Allianz Arena on Saturday behind an 80th-minute goal from Bastian Schweinsteiger.
The result means that the Bavarians will clinch the title on Sunday unless second-place Wolfsburg wins at Monchengladbach, while Hertha is only six points above the bottom three with four games to play.
Bayern manager Pep Guardiola used Saturday's match as a chance to rest a few key players, and he included youngsters Gianluca Gaudino and Mitchell Weiser in the starting lineup.
The hosts managed to control large portions of the match but failed to breakthrough in the opening half, leaving the match level at 0-0.
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer came to the rescue after the break when Hertha's Nico Schulz was played in behind the defense and left one-on-one with Neuer, who produced a fine stop to deflect the shot over the crossbar.
The hosts then turned up the pressure over the final 15 minutes and Hertha goalkeeper Sascha Burchert did well to deny a point-blank chance from Robert Lewandowski before Schweinsteiger struck the post with a header.
Bayern finally cracked the Hertha defense 10 minutes from time to grab the win as Weiser danced past four defenders to set up Schweinsteiger for a shot from 15 yards that found the top corner.
Third-place Bayer Leverkusen was held to a 1-1 draw at Cologne as the hosts tallied the equalizer in the 83rd minute through Baard Finne, leaving Leverkusen only one point clear of fourth-place Monchengladbach, which faces Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Borussia Dortmund's pursuit of a Europa League place continued with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht thanks to first-half goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Shinji Kagawa.
Hamburg moved off the bottom of the league and into the relegation playoff spot with a 3-2 triumph over Augsburg that saw Pierre-Michael Lasogga score a goal in each half, including the winner in the 71st minute.
Stuttgart remains in the bottom two after squandering a two-goal lead at home against Freiburg as the visitors got a pair of goals in the second half from Nils Petersen to snatch a 2-2 draw.
The other match in Germany on Saturday saw Hoffenheim notch a 2-1 win at Hannover as Sven Schipplock's goal in the 83rd minute made the difference.
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