Jupp Heynckes’ last home game as a Bundesliga coach ended fittingly with a victory, as champions Bayern made it 15 league wins and one draw in 2013 with a late three-goal blast to see off courageous strugglers Augsburg. The result was the perfect way to christen the brand new home kit, and as a prelude to the presentation of the Bundesliga shield after the final whistle.
The afternoon began on an emotional high as the 71,000 full house at the Allianz Arena rose to acclaim Heynckes, who accepted a symbolic bouquet from chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and acknowledged the crowd’s rapturous applause. However, the first half failed to live up to the occasion, as the determined visitors held the strangely lacklustre home side at bay.
There were chances at both ends in a free-flowing second period, before Thomas Müller finally opened the scoring on 69 minutes with a close-range header, and sub Xherdan Shaqiri made it safe with a brilliant solo effort after equally good work from Franck Ribery. Fellow sub Luiz Gustavo added the third before the end to complete the win.
The result means Bayern have won 28 of their 33 fixtures in this record-breaking season, amassing a staggering 88 points and conceding only 15 goals so far. Next Saturday’s final league fixture of the campaign takes FCB to Borussia Mönchengladbach, the club where Heynckes started out as a player and coach, before the focus turns once and for all to the Champions League final against Dortmund at Wembley on 25 May.
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