BERLIN // Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich handed Hamburg an 8-0 thrashing at the Allianz Arena on Saturday in Carlo Ancelotti’s 1,000th match as a manager.
Kingsley Coman came off the bench to score twice while Arturo Vidal, David Alaba and Arjen Robben were also on target as Bayern got back to winning ways after last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin.
They stay five points clear of second-placed RB Leipzig, who were 3-1 winners at home to Cologne.
For struggling Hamburg there was a depressing predictability about the outcome of their trip to Bavaria – they had conceded 36 goals in losing their previous six away league meetings with Bayern.
That run included two 5-0 defeats, a 6-0 loss, one 8-0 drubbing and a 9-2 humiliation in March 2013.
Vidal opened the scoring and a Lewandowski penalty doubled Bayern’s lead just past the midway point in the first half, with the Pole making it 3-0 just before the break after a Douglas Costa shot had been saved.
Lewandowski completed his fifth hat-trick since the start of last season by finishing from a Robben assist early in the second half for his 19th league goal of the campaign. He then combined with Thomas Muller to set up Alaba for the fifth goal, and Hamburg’s pain didn’t end when the Pole went off.
Frenchman Coman was introduced and added a double with Dutchman Robben putting the seal on a memorable win on a landmark day for Ancelotti.
After the match, Ancelotti, 57, was understandably pleased with his team’s performance. “Perfect day, perfect game. The team was fantastic and I’m delighted,” Ancelotti said.
He also praised out-of-form forward Muller, who was the provider for Bayern despite finishing goalless. “Thomas was the key man for us today. The best player on the field. He was involved in every attack,” Ancelotti said.
Swedish winger Emil Forsberg’s fifth-minute opener set RB Leipzig on their way to victory against Cologne, with a Dominic Maroh own goal doubling their advantage. Japanese forward Yuya Osako pulled one back for Cologne early in the second half but Timo Werner’s 13th of the season put the match out of reach.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund kept their Uefa Champions League qualification bid on track with a 3-0 win away at Freiburg. Sokratis Papastathopoulos converted from a Marco Reus free kick to put Thomas Tuchel’s side in front and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang picked up his 18th and 19th goals of the season to secure the three points.
Dortmund manager Tuchel hailed his striker’s return to form after a recent dry spell. “We need an Aubameyang who doesn’t think too much and is constantly looking forward to his next goalscoring opportunity,” Tuchel said. “That’s the Aubameyang we need”.
In Saturday’s late game, Hertha Berlin defeated the visiting Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0, leapfrogging them into fifth place in the table. Frankfurt dominated early, but after going behind to a Vedad Ibisevic goal, a red card to Haris Seferovic in the second half quashed any potential comeback.
A late header from Vladimir Darida put the result beyond doubt.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen slumped to their 10th league defeat of the campaign, going down 2-0 at home to Mainz.
They had been hoping to bounce back from their midweek Champions League loss at home to Atletico Madrid but could not recover from the concession of early goals to Stefan Bell and Levin Oztunali.
Bottom side Darmstadt’s horror season continued as they went down 2-1 at home to Augsburg despite taking the lead through Marcel Heller early in the second half.
A penalty from Paul Verhaegh quickly brought Augsburg level and Raul Bobadilla then got their winner late on with an expert chip.
RESULTS
Friday
■ Wolfsburg 1 Werder Bremen 2
Saturday
■ Bayern Munich 8 Hamburg 0
■ Bayer Leverkusen 0 Mainz 2
■ Darmstadt 1 Augsburg 2
■ Freiburg 0 Borussia Dortmund 3
■ RB Leipzig 3 Cologne 1
■ Hertha Berlin 2 Eintracht Frankfurt 0
FIXTURES
Sunday (times UAE)
■ Ingolstadt v Borussia Moenchengladbach, 6.30pm
■ Schalke v Hoffenheim, 8.30pm
* Agence France-Presse
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