Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry both scored twice as Bayern Munich romped to a 5-1 win at home to Cologne yesterday in the Bundesliga.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting headed Bayern into an early lead before Lewandowski, the league’s top scorer, struck twice to increase his league tally to 28 goals this season. Gnabry came off the bench to claim two late goals behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena on his first appearance since tearing a thigh muscle in Bayern’s Club World Cup final win in Qatar.
Later, A last-gasp Alexander Sorloth goal sealed RB Leipzig’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach and kept the hosts in the thick of the bundesliga title race.
Leipzig fought back with second-half goals by Christopher Nkunku and Yussuf Poulsen before Sorloth’s winning header in the 93rd minute after Gladbach led 2-0 at half-time thanks to strikes by Marcus Thuram and Jonas Hofmann.
The victory keeps second-placed Leipzig two points behind leaders Bayern.
Bayern had taken just a point from their previous two league games and Flick made just one change – Choupo-Moting for Kingsley Coman – from the side which routed Lazio 4-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bayern quickly built a 2-0 lead through Choupo-Moting and Lewandowski with Goretzka playing a key role in both goals.
After floating in a cross which Choupo-Moting headed home on 18 minutes, Goretzka combined with Lewandowski to prise open the Cologne defence.
However, Cologne fought back in their bid to claim a first win in Munich since February 2011.
Midfielder Ellyes Skhiri, who also netted both goals in Cologne’s 2-1 win at Dortmund last November, chipped Manuel Neuer four minutes after the break to pull a goal back after a mistake by defenders Jerome Boateng and David Alaba.
With just over 25 minutes left, Flick settled nerves by bringing on Gnabry and Mueller, who made his first appearance a fortnight after testing positive for Covid-19. A minute later, Mueller’s pass split the Cologne defence and found Lewandowski who restored the two-goal cushion. A horrible mistake by Neuer outside his own area left the Bayern goal unattended, but Cologne midfielder Dominick Drexler could only hit the post.
Lewandowski came within a whisker of a hat-trick when he just failed to connect with Lucas Hernandez’s cross. Gnabry was on hand to make it 4-1 before grabbing his second after Goretzka’s excellent pass, with both his goals coming in the last 10 minutes.
Wolfsburg remain third after their 2-0 home win over Hertha Berlin, whose defender Lukas Kluenter turned the ball into his own net before Maxence Lacroix scored the hosts’ second.
Wolfsburg defender Marin Pongracic was sent off in added time for a second booking.
England winger Jadon Sancho converted a penalty and Brazilian midfielder Reinier scored his first goal for the club as Dortmund stayed fifth with a 3-0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Bundesliga results
Borussia Dortmund 3 (Dahoud 48, Sancho 58-pen, Reinier 81) Arminia Bielefeld 0; Bayern Munich 5 (Choupo Moting 18, Lewandowski 33, 65, Gnabry 82, 86) Cologne 1 (Skhiri 49); VfL Wolfsburg 2 (Klünter 38-og, Lacroix 89) Hertha Berlin 0; VfB Stuttgart 5 (Endo 10, 26, Kalajdzic 34, Klement 88, Didavi 90+2) Schalke 1 (Kolasinac 40); RB leipzig 3 (Nkunku 57, Poulsen 66, Sorloth 90+3) Borussia Moenchengladbach 2 (Hofmann 6, Thuram 19)
RB Leipzig’s Alexander Sorloth celebrates after scoring against Borussia Moenchengladbach yesterday. (AFP)
