Hannover, Germany – Bayern Munich continued its sensational Bundesliga campaign by cruising to a 6-1 thrashing of Hannover at the AWD Arena on Saturday.
The club clinched the title two weeks ago and has showed no signs of slowing down, stuffing six past Hannover as it prepares for its Champions League showdown with Barcelona on Tuesday.
Bayern was gifted the lead after 16 minutes thanks to an own goal from Lars Stindl, but the visitors built upon the advantage thanks to Franck Ribery in the 23rd minute, Mario Gomez in the 40th and 62nd minutes and Claudio Pizarro in the 71st minute.
Andre Hoffmann pulled one back for Hannover in the 85th minute, but it was canceled out immediately by Pizarro a minute later as the Peruvian striker completed his brace.
Bayern improves to 81 points on the season while Hannover's second straight loss leaves the club on 38 points.
Bayer Leverkusen 5, Hoffenheim 0
Leverkusen, Germany - Stefan Kiessling and Andre Schurrle scored two goals apiece to lead Bayer Leverkusen to a 5-0 thumping of 10-man Hoffenheim at the BayArena on Saturday.
Kiessling got Leverkusen off the mark in the 16th minute. Eugen Polanski was sent off for Hoffenheim seven minutes later for denying a clear scoring opportunity, but Simon Rolfes failed to convert the ensuing attempt from the spot.
It ultimately made no difference as Schurrle doubled Leverkusen's advantage in the 31st minute. Kiessling and Schurrle both struck once more with goals in the 65th and 69th minutes, respectively, before Stefan Reinartz wrapped up the affair 11 minutes from time.
Leverkusen, unbeaten in its last four matches, improves to 53 points. Hoffenheim remains second from bottom in the German top flight with 24 points.
Borussia Dortmund 2, Mainz 0
Dortmund, Germany - Borussia Dortmund stayed on course for a second-place finish in the Bundesliga after picking up a 2-0 win over Mainz at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
Marco Reus put the home side in the driver's seat by scoring in the opening minute. Dortmund held the one-goal margin until the 87th minute when Robert Lewandowski bagged his Bundesliga-leading 22nd goal of the season, sealing his side's 18th league win of the campaign.
Dortmund remains 20 points behind first-place Bayern Munich while Mainz, riding a three-game skid in league play, stays put on 39 points.
Eintracht 1, Schalke 0
Frankfurt, Germany - Eintracht snapped a two-game slide to edge Schalke with a 1-0 victory at the Commerzbank Arena on Saturday.
Schalke threw away a tremendous opportunity to open the scoring in the 24th minute but Michel Bastos failed to convert a penalty kick. The visitors were left to rue that miss as Marco Russ scored in the 41st minute with the lone goal of the contest.
The result sees Schalke remain on 46 points, opening the door for Freiburg to climb to fourth place with a win at Stuttgart on Sunday. Eintracht moves to within a point of Schalke with the victory.
Hamburg 2, Dusseldorf 1
Hamburg, Germany - Rafael Van der Vaart netted a brace to lift Hamburg to a 2-1 defeat of Dusseldorf at the Imtech Arena on Saturday.
The Dutchman produced two goals six minutes apart, getting the home side off the mark in the 14th minute before doubling the advantage in the 20th minute. Dani Schahin cut the deficit in half in the 34th minute, but Dusseldorf failed to mount a comeback as the club remains on 30 points.
Hamburg has won two league matches in a row to climb to eighth place with 44 points.
Wolfsburg 3, Werder Bremen 0
Bremen, Germany - Wolfsburg extended its unbeaten run in Bundesliga play to six games, cruising to a 3-0 win at Werder Bremen on Saturday.
The visitors jumped out to a two-goal lead by halftime thanks to Maximilian Arnold's opener in the 13th minute and Ivica Olic's strike in the 27th minute. Diego converted a penalty in the 66th minute to put the victory beyond any doubt.
Wolfsburg, unbeaten in its last six Bundesliga matches, rises to 37 points, five points better than Werder Bremen.
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