Rampant Reds rout sorry Hamburg

On-fire FC Bayern bagged another victory on their way to a sixth consecutive championship title, impressively beating Hamburg 6-0 on Saturday afternoon. Franck Ribéry's goal opened the floodgates, Robert Lewandowski bagging a brace early in the first half. Arjen Robben netted before the hour mark, Ribéry and again Lewandowski adding gloss to an already imposing scoreline in the closing stages.

The Bavarians started with Sven Ulreich between the sticks and Joshua Kimmich, Jérôme Boateng, Mats Hummels and David Alaba in a back four. Javi Martínez anchored a midfield featuring Robben, Thomas Müller, Arturo Vidal and Ribéry, with Lewandowski as the sole striker.

Jupp Heynckes made four changes to the XI that saw off Freiburg last weekend. Martínez, Robben, Ribéry and Lewandowski took over from Corentin Tolisso, Juan Bernat, Thiago and Sandro Wagner.

Franck and Lewy sparkle

The 75,000 capacity crowd in Munich saw the hosts go straight onto the front foot with wave after wave of aggressive attacks, and their dominance paid off early on. The Allianz Arena clocks showed seven minutes had been played when Ribéry got hold of the ball near Hamburg's box following a stray clearance. The Frenchman rounded visiting netminder Christian Mathenia and slotted home. The reeling men from the north were unable to stem the bleeding.

Four minutes later Lewandowski rose high to connect with a Kimmich cross, his majestic header sailing into the back of the net. Even before the match, the Poland captain had boasted more league goals than the entire Hamburg team this term. Another seven minutes had been played when it became clear Hamburg would not catch up with Lewy this season. Alaba shone with a brilliant first touch, flicking a long ball into Lewandowski's path, the striker crashing home to round off his brace.

Bayern engaged cruise control after 20 minutes, imposing their passing game. Alaba miscued a free-kick before Hamburg's Gideon Jung almost put through his own goal following a Kimmich free-kick, but Mathenia was on hand. Arjen Robben hit the side-netting before match official Christian Dingert blew for half-time.

Coasting to victory

Proceedings were similar after the interval. A Müller back-heel went just wide of the post before Robben made sure the scoreline reflected the balance of play in the second half too. The Dutchman made the most of a mix-up near the box, firing into the top corner of the net from 18 yards.

Tolisso replaced Vidal for the second half but had to be subbed off with injury 20 minutes later, Sebastian Rudy coming on. Thiago took over from Robben after the hour mark. Rudy curled a 20-yarder wide of the far post before Hummels miscued from point-blank range. Ribéry shone again with a mazy dribble, wriggling his way past a number of Hamburg men before crowning the move, slotting past Mathenia.

Thiago was upended in the box, Lewandowski stepping up, but the striker blasted over the bar from the spot. A heavy challenge on Kimmich meant Lewandowski had another chance to bag a hat-trick and atone for his miss, and this time he proved a cool customer, converting the penalty before Dingert put the visitors out of their misery.

The result takes Bayern onto 66 points from 26 matches, 20 clear of Schalke. The Reds are back in action in just four days, when they travel to face Besiktas in the Champions League before taking on Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Live match report for fcbayern.com by Greg Salmen