BAYERN Munich extended their league winning streak and moved level on points with leaders Borussia Dortmund after a 5-1 thrashing of Borussia Monchengladbach.
Two goals in the first 11 minutes from Javi Martinez and Thomas Muller put Bayern firmly in the driving seat as they held off a Monchengladbach challenge at the end of the first half to lead 2-0 at the break.
Home captain Lars Stindl pulled one back before the Bavarians took full control with goals from Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry.
A late penalty was converted by the Polish striker to round off the scoring, inflicting further damage on Monchengladbach.
The result means the Bavarian side have won their last four league matches and sit behind league leaders Dortmund on goal difference.
Lewandowski’s brace sees him move to 195 goals in the Bundesliga alongside Claudio Pizarro as the most decorated foreign goalscorer in history.
Martinez headed Bayern into the lead after just 66 seconds, scoring from a James Rodriguez corner mirroring the goal in the 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
Muller made it 2-0 after 11 minutes as he latched onto a pass from Gnabry and poked the ball towards goal only for Yann Sommer to make a smart save before the German reacted quickest to smash in the rebound.
Monchengladbach pulled one back against the run of play after Thorgan Hazard played the ball through to Lars Stindl, who expertly fired past Manuel Neuer from a tight angle.
Bayern made it 3-1 at the start of the second half after Thiago Alcantara played in the ball for Lewandowski who cleverly turned past the defenders before curling the ball past Sommer.
The home side came close when Oscar Wendt fired a free-kick towards the top corner and flew just wide.
Matthias Ginter made a crucial block for Monchengladbach to deny Lewandowski a second and keep his side in the game.
Denis Zakaria had a chance to put his side back in the match, but his shot from distance went just wide of the far post following a quick break.
A last-ditch tackle from Zakaria denied Lewandowski making it four after Bayern had expertly passed the ball through the defence to set up the Polish striker.
Bayern capitalised on a period of pressure as Gnabry made it four from the rebound of a Lewandowski attempt before the Pole scored from the spot to finish off a convincing performance. – Eurosport
