Bayern bounced back in style from three straight defeats and warmed up superbly for Inter Milan in midweek with a 6-0 rout of northern rivals Hamburg, on a heartening afternoon when club captain Philipp Lahm celebrated his 100th consecutive start in an FCB shirt, and Arjen Robben set his side on the way to victory with a well-taken hat-trick.
The 69,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw the champions make a slow start but slot into the groove ten minutes before the break, hitting the post or bar three times in the two minutes prior to Robben’s 40th-minute opener.
The Dutch ace doubled the lead straight after the restart and completed his hat-trick on 55 minutes, the effervescent Franck Ribery making it four midway through the second half. The demolition job was completed by Thomas Müller and a Heiko Westermann own-goal provoked by Ribery as Bayern emphatically consigned their recent woes to the history books.
The thumping result means the champions remain fourth in the standings on 45 points from 26 games, now only two behind Hannover in third and four off second-placed Leverkusen, who visit Mainz on Sunday. The Bavarians turn to the glamour of Europe next when Inter visit the Allianz Arena in the Champions League last sixteen showdown on Tuesday.
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