Bayern Annihilate Hamburg, Wolfsburg Edge 9-Goal Thriller

Bayern Munich hammered Hamburg 8-0 at the Allianz Arena to quell suggestions regarding the league leaders struggling for form in 2015.

The emphatic win saw coach Pep Guardiola’s side maintain their eight point lead at the top of the Bundesliga standings ahead of Wolfsburg, who edged a nine-goal thriller 5-4 at Bayer Leverkusen courtesy of a Bas Dost last kick match-winner.

German World Cup winning pairs Mario Gotze and Thomas Muller, and Netherlands international Arjen Robben, all grabbed braces, with Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribery completing the rout.

The match started with tribute to former Bayern coach Udo Lattek, who died recently.

Robert Lewandowski Celebrates Scoring in the 8-0 Rout of Hamburger SV at the Allianz Arena. Image: Getty.
Robert Lewandowski Celebrates Scoring in the 8-0 Rout of Hamburger SV at the Allianz Arena. Image: Getty.

Hamburg resistance was broken after 20 minutes of cagey affair, as defender Johan Djorou conceded penalty for handling in the goal area. Muller stepped up to convert from 12 yards and hence opened the floodgates.

Gotze doubled the hosts’ lead within two minutes of the opener, blasting home a rebound of Mullers long-range shot.

Robben added a wonderful third after a swift counter attack, curling home from 25 yards in off the post. The Dutchman completed his brace within seconds of the restart, when he skipped past Ronny Marcos inside the box and poked home a right-foot shot.

Lewandowski tapped in from close range before Muller scored the second highlight of the game, curling into the corner a brilliant shot of his own to increase scores to 6-0.

Bayern were not going to apply the brake pedal as substitute, Ribery, also tapped in from close range and Gotze closed out a sensational victory ahead of their midweek Champions League game at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg survived a second-half onslaught by hosts Leverkusen to maintain pressure on the Bavarians, courtesy of Dost’s four-star performance.

Dost was twice on target either side of Naldo’s long-range free-kick as Wolfsburg went into the break with a 3-0 lead.

High-flying Korean Heung-Min Son twice pulled back for the Bay Arena outfit at the start of the second half before Dost and Son completed their hat-tricks three minutes apart to leave scores at 4-3.

Karim Bellarabi restored parity for Leverkusen, who had Bosnian centre-back Emir Spahic sent off for two bookable offences late on.

The home side were staring into the eyes of a draw before Dost nicked it at the tail end for Wolves, who now have 44 points with 16 games remaining.