Goal addicts Bayern thrash Stuttgart, Wolfsburg lose

By Karolos Grohmann

BERLIN (Reuters) – Champions Bayern Munich demolished VfB Stuttgart 4-0 on Saturday with all the goals coming in the first half as they increased their lead to eight points and stayed on course for a record fourth consecutive title on a day of red cards in the Bundesliga.

Bayern, who drew 0-0 last week at Eintracht Frankfurt after a league record 10 successive wins since the start of the season, hit top form once more and Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa put them 2-0 ahead after 17 minutes.

Thomas Mueller and Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski added two more before the break to take their tally to 11 and 14 goals respectively as the hosts picked up where they had left off in midweek when they crushed Arsenal 5-1 in the Champions League.

Bayern stepped off the gas after the break but have now scored four or more goals in their last six home games in all competitions to move up to 34 points, eight ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who face Schalke 04 on Sunday.

Brazilian Costa was far too fast down the wings for the Stuttgart defence, who could not contain Bayern’s lethal attacking trio of Mueller, Lewandowski and Robben as the hosts had a league record 23 shots on goal in the first half.

“It is so difficult to play every three games and keep showing the kind of mentality we are showing,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. “I want to thank my players because they have been doing it really well. I hope they can keep it up until the winter break and then until the end of the season.”

“I know that if we don’t win the treble it will be a bad season,” said the former Barcelona coach in his third season in charge at the German club. “I know where I am, it’s like Barcelona. We have to keep winning, winning, winning.”

There was more good news with defender Holger Badstuber, plagued by injuries in his career, recovering from the most recent to make his comeback after 200 days out.

Third-placed VfL Wolfsburg lost further ground in their pursuit of Bayern, losing 2-0 at Mainz 05 to drop 13 points behind the leaders. The Wolves were down to 10 men after 13 minutes when Julian Draxler was dismissed for a flying studs-up challenge.

Borussia Moenchengladbach’s six-game winning run in the Bundesliga under coach Andre Schubert ended when they drew 0-0 against promoted visitors Ingolstadt. The Foals, who had captain Granit Xhaka sent off in the 86th minute, are sixth on 19 points.

Fellow Champions League club Bayer Leverkusen slumped to a 2-1 home loss to Cologne and had defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos sent off with Slovenia international Dominic Maroh scoring both goals for the visitors.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)