Malmö wrap up eighth Damallsvenskan title

FC Malmö sealed the Swedish Damallsvenskan title with a game to spare on Sunday, winning 2-0 at home to Umeå IK to open up an unassailable six-point lead over Tyresö FF.

If reigning champions Tyresö had hoped Umeå could do them a favour by snatching at least a point in Malmo, the pacesetters proved too strong. Manon Melis scored a 20th-minute opener, angling her finish after being set up by Therese Sjögran and Ali Riley. Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir's header doubled the advantage irrevocably before the break.

The victory put Jonas Eidevall's team on 54 points with one round to go, giving second-placed Tyresö, on 48, no chance of catching them. For Malmö, the win brought an unrivalled eighth championship triumph, one more than Umeå. "Fantastic, I think we've done particularly well over the second half of the season," Malmö captain Malin Levenstad said afterwards.

Malmö started putting distance between themselves and Tyresö on 10 August, when they came back twice to beat the title holders 3-2. "Of course, that was a decisive point in the season," said Levenstad.

The campaign is not quite over for Sweden's top two sides. Malmö and Tyresö both recorded first-leg wins – against LSK Kvinner FK and Paris Saint-Germain FC respectively – in the UEFA Women's Champions League round of 32 and play their return matches on Wednesday. Both have already booked their returns for next season with top-two league finishes.