Bayern Munich made ten changes from their stunning Champions League semi-final, first leg win over Barcelona but still beat Freiburg 1-0 on Saturday to break the record for the number of points in a Bundesliga season.
Centre-back Jerome Boateng was the only survivor from the starting line-up which blitzed Barcelona 4-0 on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena as coach Jupp Heynckes rested his stars for Wednesday's return leg at the Camp Nou.
Swiss winger Xherdan Shaqiri hit the winner when he fired in a direct free-kick on 35 minutes to give Bayern, who were confirmed as champions three weeks ago, their 27th win from their 31 league games this season.
With 84 points this season, they have now passed Borussia Dortmund's previous record of 81, set in May 2012, for the most Bundesliga points collected in a season
With second-placed Dortmund, who routed Real Madrid 4-1 on Wednesday in their Champions League semi-final, first leg, at Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday night, Bayern have extended their league lead to 23 points.
It was also Heynckes' 50th Bundesliga victory since taking charge at Bayern in July 2011 with his team bidding to become the first German team to win the treble of European, league and cup titles.
Despite the defeat, Freiburg remain fifth in the league but only two points separate the five teams bidding for fourth spot and a play-off for a Champions League place next season.
Bayer Leverkusen remain third with a 1-0 home win over Werder Bremen who suspended Austrian bad-boy striker Marko Arnautovic and Dutch forward Eljero Elia after the former was cautioned by police for speeding on Friday.
Germany striker Stefan Kiessling netted a 35th-minute penalty which confirmed Bayer's Champions League place for next season with a ten-point lead over fourth-placed Schalke 04 and three matches left.
Mid-table VfL Wolfsburg ran out 3-0 winners at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach, but the relegation battle heated up with two of the bottom three teams picking up wins.
After their 3-2 defeat at home to Hanover 96, bottom side Greuther Fuerth's relegation was confirmed as 16th placed Augsburg romped to a 3-0 win at home to German Cup finalists VfB Stuttgart.
Second-from-bottom Hoffenheim beat Nuremberg 2-1 ro keep their survival hopes alive.
The team that finishes 16th enters a promotion/relegation play-off against the side that finishes third in the second division.
Fuerth, who host Freiburg in a fortnight, have now just one home match left to avoid becoming the first Bundesliga team to go an entire campaign without a single home victory.
Source: AFP
