Bayern Munich hammer Stuttgart to remain unbeaten in Bundesliga
Bayern Munich continued their domination of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win over southern rivals Stuttgart.
Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller all scored within the first 45 minutes as the Bavarians ran riot once again. There were no further goals in the second half as Bayern took things easy, safe in the knowledge they had done enough to extend their lead over Borussia Dortmund at the top to eight points.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola had demanded improvements from his team, even after their 5-1 win over Arsenal in midweek, and did not have to wait long to see his side open up a two-goal lead. Costa burst clear and his cross was turned over the goalline by Robben's stomach in the 11th minute, and then Costa added a second from Muller's cross seven minutes later.
Stuttgart tried their best to play along and Filip Kostic almost brought them back into the game with a shot which hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced out to safety. The visitors' bold efforts were not rewarded and instead they found themselves four behind with two more goals coming just before half-time.
Muller provided the first for Lewandowski, who only had to stick out his foot for his 14th goal of the season. Muller then headed the fourth after Kingsley Coman's effort came back off the crossbar.
Stuttgart had a goal through Timo Werner disallowed early in the second half, with no clear reason for the officials' decision The game was nevertheless over as a contest and Guardiola used the opportunity to give both Medhi Benatia and Holger Badstuber their comebacks from injury.
The final cheers of the game were for them as Bayern declined to inflict any further damage on a Stuttgart side who slip inside the bottom three on goal difference, Werder Bremen moving up a position without even playing on Saturday.
Borussia Monchengladbach 0, Ingolstadt 0
Borussia Monchengladbach caretaker coach Andre Schubert's winning streak was brought to an end by Ingolstadt, who snatched a point from a goalless draw at the Borussia Park Stadion.
The Foals had won all six league matches since Schubert replaced Lucien Favre after five straight defeats, but his side could not find the key to unlock Ingolstadt's defence. Gladbach also ended the game with 10 men with Granit Xhaka shown a second yellow card late on, moments before Thorgan Hazard saw arguably the best chance of the game saved expertly by Ramazan Ozcan.
The draw leaves Gladbach, whose hopes of progress in the Champions League were ended on Tuesday, in sixth position while Ingolstadt remain in mid-table.
Hoffenheim 0, Eintracht Frankfurt 0
Huub Stevens first home match in charge of Hoffenheim ended in a goalless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt as the hosts were left still waiting for their first win in front of their own fans this term.
While Stevens saw his side keep the clean sheet he craved, he will also have seen plenty of room for improvement as his struggling side were lucky to come away with a point. Frankfurt created the better chances at the Rhein-Neckar Arena, Aleksandar Ignjovski wasting the best from close range.
The Eagles could also have had a penalty in the first half, while goalkeeper Oliver Baumann came to Hoffenheim's rescue on numerous occasions.
Mainz 2, Wolfsburg 0
Mainz moved into the top half of the Bundesliga after inflicting a 2-0 defeat on third-placed Wolfsburg.
After Wolfsburg's Julian Draxler was shown an early red card Pablo De Blasis gave the hosts the lead, capitalising on a mistake by goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. Yunus Malli added a second in the 75th minute to complete Mainz's win.
Wolfsburg were reduced to 10 men in the 14th minute when Draxler went in with his foot high and caught Gonzalo Jara on his head, the referee judging it dangerous enough to brandish a straight red. It left the Wolves a man down for 75 minutes of the game and they struggled to come to terms with the setback, giving possession away easily.
A mistake by Benaglio then gifted Mainz the lead. The Swiss goalkeeper could not hold Jairo Samperio's cross and instead touched the ball down for De Blasis, who scored from close range. Benaglio dropped a couple more crosses and was lucky there were no takers, while Naldo almost diverted the ball into his own goal as Wolfsburg seemed intent on shooting themselves in the foot again.
At the other end, chances were few and far between, with Draxler's invention missing and nobody prepared to take on his mantle. One goal looked set to be enough for Mainz to take the points, but they added a second for good measure with 15 minutes remaining.
Malli's low shot found the bottom left-hand corner, earning him his seventh goal of the season. Yoshinori Muto wasted a glorious opportunity to net a third late on, but Mainz were already home and dry.
