Champions Bayern Munich battled past gutsy Schalke 04 to win 3-1 on Saturday and open up an eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
A day after rivals Borussia Dortmund lost to Hamburg SV, the Bavarian side went ahead on nine minutes with a deflected David Alaba effort, but then found it hard going against a disciplined Schalke defense.
The hosts leveled with their first chance of the game as Max Meyer rounded off a superb break launched by teenager Leroy Sane.
Photo: AP
However, Schalke were caught napping in the 69th minute when Javi Martinez was left unmarked in the penalty area to head in an Arjen Robben cross.
Robert Lewandowski went close to adding another late in the game when he hit the post with a low shot, but Thomas Mueller slotted in with a clever effort from a tight angle in stoppage-time for Bayern’s third.
“It was difficult to win here tonight,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
“Schalke’s five-man defense made it hard, they were quick in central defense, but we did it and I have to compliment my players for their work,” said the Spaniard, whose team are eyeing a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title.
Bayern’s 12th win from 13 league games is a league record and it moved them to 37 points with Dortmund on 29.
Elsewhere, Max Kruse scored twice as VfL Wolfsburg crushed Werder Bremen 6-0, while Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Andre Schubert equaled a club record with his eighth unbeaten game since taking over as they earned a late 2-1 win against Hannover 96.
Schubert, who took over after five straight losses at the start of the season, matched their great former coach Udo Lattek’s record from the 1975-1976 season with seven wins and a draw so far.
Ibrahima Traore put the hosts ahead, before Artur Sobiech’s 65th-minute equalizer for Hannover.
Raffael was left unmarked five minutes from the end and he did not miss, tapping in the winner to lift Moenchengladbach, who also twice hit the woodwork, to fourth place on 22 points.
Wolfsburg remain two points ahead in third place after easing past Bremen, with Alejandro Galvez scoring an own-goal before the hosts doubled their lead through Kruse on the stroke of halftime.
Wolfsburg then netted four times in the second half, with Kruse completing the rout with his second goal in the 87th minute.
Hakan Calhanoglu capped Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt with a glorious goal, the Turkey international curling in a shot from the edge of the penalty area after a brace from Javier Hernandez to lift them to sixth place on 20 points.
In Saturday’s other matches, Augsburg won 4-0 at VfB Stuttgart, while the Rhine derby between Cologne and FSV Mainz 05 ended goalless.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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