Bayern moves 20 points clear
Bayern Munich's seemingly unstoppable march to a sixth consecutive Bundesliga title continued as it brushed aside Freiburg 4-0 at Schwarzwald-Stadion on Monday (AEDT).
The victory opens up a 20-point lead over second-placed Schalke and heralds a return to winning ways after last weekend's surprise 0-0 draw at home to Hertha Berlin.
After a sluggish start, Jupp Heynckes' side burst into life midway through the opening period as Thomas Muller's persistence forced Alexander Schwolow into an own goal to break the deadlock.
That was soon followed by a thumping long-range drive from Corentin Tolisso, which flashed past the Freiburg goalkeeper to double their advantage.
Sandro Wagner added a third in the 54th minute to effectively end the game as a contest before Muller netted his sixth league goal of the campaign with a smart finish 15 minutes later.
Denied the talents of Franck Ribery and Kingsley Coman through injury, Heynckes somewhat surprisingly left Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben on the bench.
Perhaps buoyed by the absence of two of Bayern's star names, Freiburg started with a spring in its step and almost took the lead after 12 minutes.
Lucas Holer took advantage of uncharacteristic space in the visitors' backline to latch onto an incisive throughball. His low shot, though, was diverted agonisingly past the post by Sven Ulreich's outstretched boot.
Holer was made to pay for that profligacy in the 25th minute as Muller's second attempted cross at the back post bounced off Schwolow's leg and into the net for an unfortunate own goal.
If the Freiburg goalkeeper could have done more to keep out Muller's cross, there was little he could do to prevent Tolisso's stunning strike just three minutes later.
The 23-year-old picked up the ball 30 yards out and unleashed a dipping, swerving effort that careered into Schwolow's top left-hand corner.
Wagner glanced a header wide shortly after the restart but was soon able to celebrate his third goal since his January move from Hoffenheim as he bundled home Juan Bernat's cross from close range after a scramble involving Muller.
Bernat then inexplicably headed wide himself before Muller finally got on the scoresheet in the 69th minute, meeting Joshua Kimmich's corner at the near post with a half-volley that sailed into the roof of Schwolow's net.
Bayern never really looked like adding a fifth during a low-key finish, but the damage had already been well and truly done as it took another stride towards the Bundesliga title.
