MUNICH: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich scored three times in 19 minutes in the first half to crush Hoffenheim 5-0 on Wedne­sday and restore their four-point advantage at the top of the standings.

The Bavarians did not need long to open their account with Leroy Sane drilling in for the lead from a Thomas Muller assist in the seventh minute.

Raphael Guerreiro doubled it after a one-two with Harry Kane five minutes later and they killed off the game with a 26th minute penalty by the league’s top scorer, Kane, who bagged his 16th goal.

The England captain has now converted all 12 of the penalties he has taken in his Bundesliga career, the league’s third best record.

The Bavarians picked up where they left off after the break with Sane scoring the second goal of the match three minutes after the restart before substitute Serge Gna­bry tapped in their fifth in the 66th.

Vincent Kompany’s team are on 42 points, four ahead of champions Bayer Leverkusen. Hoffenheim, winless in last six games are 16th, in the relegation spot.

Meanwhile, VfB Stuttgart came from a goal down at home to win 2-1 against RB Leipzig, who finished with nine men.

Benjamin Sesko gave Leipzig the lead after just 10 minutes, sliding in a Xavi Simons assist to score for the fifth league game in a row.

In the second half, a superb long Deniz Undav cross found an unmarked Jacob Bruun Larsen, who headed Stuttgart level.

Undav created another 10 minutes later, pushing Leipzig into a desperation clearance only for Nick Woltemade to hammer home, taking Stuttgart up to fifth, a point behind the Saxons in the table.

Tempers boiled over for the visitors late, with both Sesko and fellow forward Lois Openda picking up second yellow cards.

Elsewhere, Union Berlin’s lost 2-0 to Augsburg while Heidenheim salvaged a 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen. Bochum’s recorded a 1-0 win over St Pauli.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2025