Bayern, Dortmund claim victories in German Bundesliga

Berlin, Nov 25 (IANS) Front−runner Bayern Munich humiliated Hannover 5−0 owing to a faultless performance while defending champions Dortmund came from behind to defeat Mainz 2−1 at the 13th match day of Bundesliga.

Record champions Bayern Munich returned to winning ways following the hammering victory over chance−less Hannover, who were unable to make any impact on the scoreboards Saturday, reports Xinhua.

The Bavarians had a bright start as 40−million−man Javi Martinez capitalised on a header by Bastian Schweinsteiger to score his first ever goal for the Germans with an overhead kick into top right.

Bayern’s dominant performance denied Hannover to gain a foothold into the game.

Toni Kroos doubled the home sides tally when he scored with a sideways scissor−kick at the 25th minute following a cross by Phillip Lahm.

Thirteen minutes later Frenchmen Franck Ribery made it three on the scoreboards to extend the lead.

After the restart Hannover was unable to put up resistance as the Bavarians were not done with scoring.

Dante headed home a free−kick cross by Toni Kroos to increase the lead to four with 63 minutes on the clock.

Finally, substitute Mario Gomez, who was fielded after a long−term injury, marked the final score when he shrugged off Hannover Karim Haggui to slot home inside the far post in the 67th minute.

Defending champions Borussia Dortmund snatched the second place in the standings following a 2−1 comeback victory at Mainz.

Mainz caught the reigning champions flat−footed as Marco Caligiuri’s long−range strike opened the scoring for the hosts with only four minutes on the clock.

The visitors remained unfazed and levelled eight minutes later through Marco Reus, whose curl ended−up in the far corner from outside the box.

The hosts squandered a few chances but Robert Lewandowski smoothed the way for the victory when he used Mario Goetzes through ball to beat onrushing Mainz goalkeeper with a lob before the break.

As a result of the narrow 2−1 win Dortmund jumped to second position owing to the draw between Schalke and Frankfurt.

“This was an incredibly intense match. After Caligiuris vicious opener we gained a foothold into the match,” Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said.

Runner−up Schalke suffered a set back in the title race as they were held to a 1−1 draw with newly promoted and third placed Frankfurt.

Dutchmen Klaas Jan Huntelaar broke the deadlock with eleven minutes played following a turn−over. But Frankfurt remained unimpressed as Stefan Aigner equalised the score 105 seconds later to claim one point at Schalke Arena.

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg and Bremen shared points at the Northern derby after a 1−1 draw meanwhile newly promoted Greuther Fuerth and Nuremberg were unable to score goals over 90 minutes in the Southern derby.

IANS 2012-11-25 12:28:06