Unstoppable leaders Bayern Munich hammered hapless Werder Bremen 6-1 yesterday to clock up their sixth straight Bundesliga win since the winter break.
Mario Gomez scored twice, Arjen Robben, Javi Martinez and Franck Ribery shared three goals and Theodor Gebre Selassie put through his own net as Bayern went 18 points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who visit Borussia Moenchengladbach this afternoon.
Hanover 96 thrashed sixth-placed Hamburg 5-1 while Augsburg beat Hoffenheim 2-1 to move out of the bottom two, where they were replaced by their own opponents.
Bayern, who have won 19 of their 23 games, have 60 points and have conceded only eight goals. It was their sixth straight victory in what was coach Jupp Heynckes’ 1,000th Bundesliga match as coach and player.
Bremen remain on 28 points after their second straight loss.
Heynckes made six changes to his line-up following the Champions League win over Arsenal, with Robben and Gomez starting.
Bayern had the first chance after 20 minutes but Bremen goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz made a fine save from Robben.
Bayern went ahead 1-0 five minutes later with an attack from the right, Philipp Lahm crossing into the box where a charging Robben poked home from five yards.
The lead doubled after 29 minutes as Robben sent a free-kick into the box and Martinez headed home.
Bremen went a man down a minute before the break as Sebastian Prodl was sent off for a professional foul on Gomez.
Bayern made it 3-0 thanks to an own-goal early in the second half when Gebre Selassie’s attempted clearance ended in Mielitz’s net.
Two minutes later it was four as Ribery looped a pass to Gomez, who passed the ball into the empty goal.
Bremen pulled a goal back in the 58th minute as Dante’s clearance only went to Aleksandar Ignjovski, who passed to De Bruyne and the Belgian did the rest.
Ribery made it five in the 86th minute, latching on to Lahm’s fine looping pass before beating Mielitz, while Gomez hit Bayern’s sixth in the 89th minute.
Didier Ya Konan scored twice as Hanover bounced back from their exit from the Europa League with a resounding victory over Hamburg.
Mame Biram Diouf opened the scoring in the seventh minute for Hanover before Rafael van der Vaart equalised from the spot in the 13th minute.
Szabolcs Huszti converted a penalty for Hanover in the 39th minute and Ya Konan made it 3-1 in the 45th minute before deciding the match for good with his second goal after 68 minutes.
Mohammed Abdellaoue added a fifth in the 85th minute.
The result saw Hanover continue their strong home form to improve to 33 points while Hamburg saw their modest two-match winning streak in the Bundesliga snapped to remain on 34 points.