Bayern Munich and Schalke 04 moved firmly into the German title race on Saturday with impressive away victories.
Bayern produced a 5-1 romp at struggling VfL Bochum, while Schalke won 2-0 at fellow title hopefuls Werder Bremen to edge the Bavarians into third spot.
Bayern Munich’s win at VfL Bochum, coming hot on the heels of a four-goal Champions League success at Juventus, gave them 30 points from 16 games, two adrift of leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who just preserved their unbeaten league record this season with a 2-2 draw at tailenders Hertha Berlin on Friday.
PHOTO: REUTERS
With a week to go until the winter break, Louis van Gaal’s men are finally firing on all cylinders just six weeks after they languished in eighth place, eight points off the summit.
Bayern cannot stop scoring. Fourteen goals in four games against two conceded tells its own story, and strike tandem Mario Gomez and Ivica Olic have been leading rivals a merry dance — leaving Germany international Miroslav Klose and World Cup winner Luca Toni on the first team fringes.
Gomez opened the scoring on 23 minutes with his fourth in four games.
PHOTO: AFP
Then Olic, who has become a fan favorite given the injury absences of French star Franck Ribery in the first half of the season, notched a double either side of halftime following a Mergim Mavric own-goal.
Croatian star Danijel Prandic completed the rout 10 minutes after the restart.
Christian Fuchs hit a consolation for Bochum, who are now in the bottom four.
“The players have digested the win over Juventus very well,” van Gaal said.
“They were very concentrated and it’s been a great week, the best since I have been in Munich,” said the Dutchman, who is reportedly ready to let the out-of-favor Toni return to Italy. “We are only two points off top spot and that is very satisfying.”
A win over Mainz next week and the four-times European champions could just go into the Christmas break top of the heap.
They lie third for now, however, after Schalke 04 muscled past Werder Bremen into second place thanks to goals from Kevin Kuranyi — a left-footed strike two minutes after the break — and then Jan Moravek, who fired in after Kuranyi set him up with 18 minutes remaining.
Czech star Moravek had only come on two minutes earlier for Croatian Ivan Rakitic in what proved to be an inspired substitution by coach Felix Magath, whose men are just a point off Leverkusen.
Hamburg SV are also on 28 points after a 4-0 destruction of Nuremberg, with Eljero Elia scoring a double, and Marcell Jansen and Tunay Torun likewise on target as all the goals came in the second half.
In Saturday’s other games, Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Hannover 96 5-3, Freiburg were held 0-0 at home by Cologne and Hoffenheim drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt.
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