Arjen Robben scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich hammered Hanover 7-0 on Saturday to return to the top of the Bundesliga.
After Schalke had temporarily taken top spot in the German league, Bayern went back to the summit at Munich’s Allianz Arena thanks to Robben’s triple and two goals apiece from Ivica Olic and Thomas Mueller.
The result leaves Hanover second from bottom, while Bayern remain on course for the title.
PHOTO: AFP
Bayern were in control throughout and Olic opened the scoring with a header on 22 minutes before Robben grabbed his first to make it 2-0 with half an hour played.
Munich were without German striker Miroslav Klose, who was suffering from an upset stomach.
They hardly missed him thanks to the dominance of Olic and Robben. The pair scored within a minute of each other early in the second half to make it 5-0 after Mueller had struck just before halftime.
PHOTO: EPA
The youngster showed the dazzling form that has taken him to the verge of the German national squad with a superb individual goal on 62 minutes before Robben’s third in injury time.
Before the game Bayern coach Louis van Gaal had labeled some of his side as “cissies.”
“I hope our desire is stronger than the fatigue, but the body is not as strong as the spirit,” van Gaal said. “And we have a few cissies here,” he added, without naming players.
Schalke’s Ivan Rakitic netted twice in a 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to leave them second, two points behind Bayern.
Bayer Leverkusen are virtually out of the title race after they were beaten 2-1 at Stuttgart, with striker Stefan Kiessling netting for Bayer before Cacau scored twice for the hosts.
The result dumped Leverkusen down to fourth, seven points behind Schalke with just three games left to play this season.
Werder Bremen went third after a 4-2 victory at Wolfsburg while Hamburg were stunned 1-0 at home by Mainz and Freiburg gave themselves a fighting chance of staying up with a 2-1 win over fellow relegation candidates Nuremberg.
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