Bayern Munich demolished Hamburg SV 5-0 yesterday with a scintillating performance by Arjen Robben as German Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund struggled to beat Nuremberg 2-0.
Dutch international Robben scored one goal and set up another for Daniel van Buyten, with Franck Ribery, last season's top scorer Mario Gomez and substitute Ivica Olic also on target as the hosts kept a clean sheet for the third straight game in all competitions.
Dortmund was made to work much harder against aggressive Nuremberg and had to wait until early in the second half to celebrate when Mario Goetze, in the box, cut back for Robert Lewandowski to thunder in for the lead.
Kevin Grosskreutz added another for the hosts 10 minutes from time.
Both Bayern and Dortmund move up to six points from three games, one behind Borussia Moenchengladbach, 4-1 winner against VfL Wolfsburg on Friday. Champions League competitor Bayer Leverkusen also has six after a 1-0 win at VfB Stuttgart. Hamburg is 17th with just one point
Hanover 96 and Mainz 05, also on six, take on Hertha Berlin and Schalke 04, respectively, today.
On Friday, Marco Reus scored twice and earned a penalty to lead Moenchengladbach, which narrowly avoided relegation last season, when it had to go through a playoff to ensure Bundesliga survival.
The 22-year-old Reus equalized in the 15th minute after Japan midfielder Makoto Hasebe opened the scoring for Wolfsburg in the 12th.
It was the first time since Felix Magath returned as coach that Wolfsburg has lost two games in a row.
Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)