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First Posted: 4/6/2013

(AP) Bayern Munich clinched the Bundesliga title with a record six games to spare, winning 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday as Bastian Schweinsteiger scored in the 52nd minute.


Bayern Munich (24-1-3), the first team to clinch this season in a major European league, maintained a 20-point lead over second-place Borussia Dortmund (16-5-7), which rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat visiting Augsburg 4-2 as former American under-20 team defender Neven Subotic scored the go-ahead goal. Dortmund had won the previous two league titles.


“It was a long road and I think it was totally deserved,” Bayern defender Phillip Lahm said. “If you look at the statistics for the season, you can see we were clearly the best side.”


Schweinsteiger scored with a backheel to deflect Lahm’s cross past goalkeeper Oka Nikolov, and Bayern extended its league winning streak to 11 games.


Bayern has won a record 23 German league titles; no other club has more than 10. It is has 75 points, six shy of the Bundesliga record set by Dortmund last season.


“It’s fantastic. Above all, I’m happy for my players, who put in tremendous work all season,” said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes, who will be replaced by Pep Guardiola for next season.


Schalke won 2-0 at Werder Bremen. The visitors were without American midfielder Jermaine Jones, who has missed two league games since spraining his left ankle against Costa Rica during a World Cup qualifier on March 22.


In the Austrian Bundesliga, U.S. forward Terrence Boyd scored his 12th goal of the season in Rapid Vienna’s 1-1 draw against Wacker Innsbruck.


Boyd has 16 goals in all competitions.


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MANCHESTER, England (AP) Arsenal won for the sixth time in seven games and moved into fourth place in the Premier League England’s final Champions League berth with a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion on two goals by Tomas Rosicky.


Rosicky scored in the 20th and 50th minutes. Gunners defender Per Mertesacker received a red card in the 70th minute for fouling Shane Long, and James Morrison converted the penalty kick.


“It was very difficult in the end and we had to show another aspect of our strength at the moment resolve, spirit and fighting attitude,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, hoping for his team’s 16th straight Champions League appearance.


Arsenal (16-7-8) is one point behind Tottenham (17-8-6), which hosts Everton on Sunday, and one ahead of Chelsea (16-7-7), which is home versus Sunderland.


Manchester United (25-3-2) has a 15-point lead over second-place Manchester City (18-4-8) with eight games left going into their meeting Monday night at Old Trafford.


Aston Villa (8-15-9) and American goalkeeper Brad Guzan moved three points above the relegation zone with a 3-1 win at Stoke. Matthew Lowton scored the tiebreaking goal in the 87th minute on a 35-yard volley and Christian Benteke added a goal in the first minute of injury time.


Southampton won 2-0 at last-place Reading (5-19-8), which trails Queens Park Rangers (4-16-11) on goal difference. Wigan (8-16-6), which is at QPR on Sunday, trails 17th-place Sunderland (7-14-10) by one point for the last safe position.


In the second-tier League Championship, American midfielder Stuart Holden made his second start during his loan to Sheffield Wednesday and played until the 59th minute of a 3-2 win over visiting Blackburn.


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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Cesc Fabregas scored his first hat trick to shine in place of the injured Lionel Messi, powering Barcelona to a 5-0 thrashing of Mallorca in the Spanish league.


The Catalan club’s festive night got even better in the 70th minute when Eric Abidal went on for his first game with Barcelona since a liver transplant last year.


Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, went on as a substitute to seal Real Madrid’s 5-1 victory over Levante as both powerhouses warmed up for their second leg Champions League quarterfinals.


Messi is trying to recover from a right hamstring injury for Paris Saint-Germain’s visit on Wednesday with their series poised at 2-2.


Elsewhere, high-flying Real Sociedad romped to a 4-2 win over Malaga in San Sebastian, and Deportivo La Coruna provisionally escaped last place by beating visiting Real Zaragoza 3-2.


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MILAN (AP) Juventus opened a 12-point lead in the Italian league, winning 2-1 at home against Pescara on goals by Mirko Vucinic in the 72nd and 78th minutes, the first a penalty kick after Giuseppe Rizzo was given a red card for fouling Arturo Vidal.


Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco was taken off on a stretcher with a knee injury in the first half. Seeking its second straight league title, Juventus (21-4-5) will try to overturn a two-goal deficit when its hosts Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.


Second-place Napoli (17-5-8) hosts Genoa on Sunday and third-place AC Milan (17-7-6), which is another two points back, is at fourth-place Fiorentina (15-9-6).


In the second division, American defender Carlos Bocanegra made his second straight start for Racing Santander in a 1-0 win at Alcorcon. Before last weekend, Bocanegra had not played since Feb. 2.


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PARIS (AP) Jeremy Menez scored on a solo run in the 56th minute and Zlatan Ibrahimovic added his 26th league goal of the season in the second minute of stoppage time, helping French league leader Paris Saint-Germain to a 2-0 win at Rennes


PSG coach Carlo Ancelotti used only four of the starters from Tuesday’s 2-2 home draw against Barcelona in the Champions League. The second leg is Wednesday in Spain. PSG (19-5-7) has a seven-point lead over second-place Marseille (17-8-6), which defeated Bordeaux 1-0 Friday.


Associated Press