´Pleased´ Guardiola praises Bayern

A delighted Pep Guardiola hailed his Bayern Munich side after they sealed the Bundesliga title on Tuesday.

Bayern claimed a 24th league title with a 3-1 win at Hertha Berlin, with the March 25 victory the earliest a campaign has been sealed in the Bundesliga’s 51-year history.

Such has been the European champions’ dominance, they are 25 points clear with 25 wins and two draws and a goal difference of +66 through 27 games.

Guardiola said the club would take the rare opportunity to celebrate.

“I’m pleased we’ve done it. Another trophy for this club is important,” he said.

“Congratulations to everyone on this massive season. We’ll eat and celebrate together tonight. When you have a little time to spare you ought to enjoy it.”

Former Barcelona coach Guardiola joined Bayern this season, watching his side already win the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Bundesliga.

The German giants are still in the hunt for another UEFA Champions League title and are in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal.

Guardiola was thankful for the opportunity but said the win over Hertha was far from their most impressive display.

Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze struck in the opening 14 minutes and while Adrian Ramos pulled a goal back from the penalty spot, Franck Ribery sealed the win late on.

“Many, many thanks to the club for the opportunity to be here and coach these outstanding players,” Guardiola said.

“We played really, really well for 30 minutes. We were dynamic but kept it simple and used the whole of the pitch. We controlled the game but forgot to attack at times.”

Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer paid tribute to Guardiola and his star-studded squad.

“First and foremost, all due credit to the coach and the team,” he said.

“After the previous successful season we set about our work with great determination and we’ve won the title even earlier than last year. We’re happy.

“We have unbelievable focus and momentum at the moment. We created a foundation last year based on strong characters.

“We’ve adjusted things where necessary and continued our development.”