Bayern Munich opened a seven-point lead in the Bundesliga on Saturday as they warmed up for their UEFA Champions League clash at Manchester City with a 4-0 hammering of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern have already claimed their last-16 place as group winners with two games to spare and have now opened an ominous gap in the German league.
Mario Goetze and Robert Lewandowski scored first-half goals at Munich’s Allianz Arena as the hosts cruised into the lead. Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger made his first appearance of the season off the bench, 132 days after the FIFA World Cup final, as Bayern scored twice in the last 10 minutes through Arjen Robben and Sebastian Rode.
Photo: AFP
“We had problems at the start with our buildup play and we only found our game midway through the first half, so I think the 4-0 result was too high,” an unimpressed Guardiola said after the game.
Bayern’s iron grip on this season’s league title was tightened by results elsewhere as they extended their 21-match unbeaten run.
Second-placed VfL Wolfsburg snapped their eight-match winning streak at Schalke 04, while third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach also lost ground with a 3-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt to fall 10 points behind the Bavarian club.
Schalke boss Roberto di Matteo warmed up for tomorrow’s visit to former club Chelsea with a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg. The Blues sacked him in 2012, just six months after winning the Champions League.
Ten-man Moenchengladbach slumped to a second straight defeat after squandering a sixth-minute lead carved out by Norway midfielder to let Frankfurt hit back and claim a 3-1 win.
Borussia Dortmund, who have already qualified for the Champions League last-16, threw away a two-goal lead to draw SC Paderborn 07 2-2 ahead of Wednesday’s clash at Arsenal to stay a point above the Bundesliga relegation spots.
Hertha BSC’s 2-1 win at Cologne, thanks to Cameroon midfielder Marcel Ndjeng’s late winner, means Dortmund remain 15th in the league after losing seven of their 12 games so far this season.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who host AS Monaco as leaders of their Champions League group on Wednesday, warmed up with a 3-1 win at Hannover 96.
In the day’s remaining game, FSV Mainz drew 2-2 with SC Freiburg.
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