Lewandowski hat-trick keeps Bayern clear
Robert Lewandowski scored a second consecutive home hat-trick in the Bundesliga as 10-man Bayern Munich thrashed Stuttgart 4-0 to extend its lead at the summit to four points.
The Pole, who found the back of the net threes time against Borussia Dortmund on his last league outing at Allianz Arena, took just 39 minutes to repeat the feat here.
Serge Gnabry also got on the scoresheet in a rampant first half as Hansi Flick's side brushed off the early loss of Alphonso Davies to a red card to claim a thumping victory.
Davies received his marching orders after VAR (video assistant referee) intervened to upgrade a yellow for his studs-up challenge on Wataru Endo.
After surviving an early storm, Bayern went ahead through Lewandowski, who claimed second place in the Bundesliga's all-time top scorer charts outright by powering in Gnabry's low cross to bring up his 269th goal in the competition.
Provider then turned goalscorer as Gnabry benefited from a slick exchange between Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane to finish a wonderful team goal.
A minute later, Lewandowski's powerful header from Muller's right-wing cross had Bayern three ahead with barely a quarter of the game gone.
The prolific Pole had a hat-trick just before the break, pinching the ball inside the box and arrowing a left-footed finish into the bottom right-hand corner to make it three goals from three shots.
Bayern's number nine should have made it four just past the hour mark but miscued in uncharacteristic fashion after being picked out by Benjamin Pavard's low cross.
But that miss mattered little in the end as the champion saw out its win with little discomfort.
Bayern could take a big step toward to retaining the Bundesliga title when it faces nearest challenger RB Leipzig in two weeks' time. A win would take Flick's men seven points clear with as many games remaining, while defeat would close the gap to just a single point.
