On-fire FCB provided the perfect response to draws in their last two games by playing hapless Hannover off the park on Saturday afternoon, Jupp Heynckes’ men overrunning the visitors at times with glorious flowing football and some sublime finishing. The win means Munich move nine points clear at the top of the league with more than a third of the season played.
The 71,000 full house at the Allianz Arena erupted on just three minutes when Javi Martinez opened his Bayern account with a spectacular overhead kick. Toni Kroos made it two midway through the first half with a barely less impressive volleyed finish, and Franck Ribery increased the lead from close range eight minutes from half-time.
The leaders kept it up after the restart, Dante joining Martinez in netting a maiden goal for the club, and Mario Gomez scoring his first league goal of the season just 27 seconds after coming on as a 66th-minute sub. Hannover keeper Ron-Robert Zieler prevented further embarrassment for his side with a string of superb saves,
The thumping victory, Bayern’s 11th in their 13 league fixtures, means FCB move onto 34 points, nine clear of new second-placed club Dortmund and ten ahead of Schalke and Frankfurt. The spotlight remains on the domestic league for the next week, with the Bavarians visiting mid-table Freiburg on Wednesday, before champions Dortmund visit Munich next Saturday evening for the biggest match of the season so far.
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