Record-breakers hand Wolfsburg maiden title

Agence France-Presse

Wolfsburg won its maiden Bundesliga title on Saturday with a 5-1 victory over Werder Bremen as its strikers Grafite and Edin Dzeko set a new goal-scoring record for a German league partnership.

Between them Bosnia's Dzeko and Brazil's Grafite have scored 54 goals this season to break the previous record set by Bayern Munich's Gerd Muller and Uli Hoeness in the 1970s.

"It's completely mad to have won the championship and got the record," said Dzeko. "It's a great feeling - we will celebrate all night long."

The victory means champion Wolfsburg finishes the season two points clear to take its Champions League place for next season and gives Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath his third Bundesliga title having won the German league twice with Bayern.

Deserving of title

Magath leaves to coach and manage Schalke 04 next season while defending champion Bayern finishes the season second after beating Stuttgart.

"I knew that we were good enough," said Magath. "We put in some good performances all season and we deserved to be champions. Of course, it will be hard to leave now."

Wolfsburg took the lead at home to Bremen after just six minutes when Bosnian playmaker Zvjezdan Misimovic fired the host side into the lead. And Grafite underlined his status as the league's top-scorer when he slipped his marker Naldo to add a second after 15 minutes.

The result was put beyond doubt after only 26 minutes when Grafite fired his shot off the boot of Bremen defender Sebastian Proedl and into the net.

Werder's Brazilian Diego made it 3-1 after 31 minutes, but Grafite struck for the 28th time this season when he headed home from Misimovic on 56 minutes to make it 4-1. And Dzeko hit their fifth goal on 74 minutes to set the new record with his 26th goal to bring the title to Wolfsburg. Bayern made sure of its Champions League place for next season when it beat title rival Stuttgart 2-1 at Munich's Allianz Arena. Before the game Bayern bid farewell to caretaker coach Jupp Heynckes, who will be replaced by Louis van Gaal on July 1, and Germany striker Lukas Podolski, who is returning to Cologne after three years in Munich. Munich went ahead after only 16 minutes when French midfielder Franck Ribery saw his shot deflect off the boot of Stuttgart's Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz.

Bayern extended its lead when captain Mark van Bommel hit the second goal on 60 minutes before Germany striker Mario Gomez pulled a goal back three minutes later.

Despite losing to Bayern, Stuttgart can now qualify for the Champions League after finishing third.

Hertha Berlin has to be content with a Europa League place after it slumped to a 4-0 defeat Karlsruhe who was relegated, but the win took it off the bottom of the table.

Hamburg's 3-2 win at Eintracht Frankfurt was sealed by an injury-time goal from Germany winger Piotr Trochowski which gives it fifth and a Europa League place for next season.

Dortmun’s miss out

Dortmund finished sixth and miss out on a Europa League place for next season with their 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Bielefeld is the other side relegated after their 2-2 draw at home to Hanover. Energie Cottbus will find out next weekend if it has survived the dreaded drop after beating Leverkusen 3-0 to claim 16th place which means a play-off with the third-placed side in the second division.

In the other results, Bochum drew 1-1 at Cologne and Hoffenheim won 3-2 at Schalke 04.