Schweinsteiger lifts Bayern past Hertha Berlin
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
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.