Bayern extend lead to stay atop German Bundesliga standings

Bayern Munich's late goals against Ingolstadt secured the 15th win of the season whereas Hamburg shocked runners-up Leipzig with three goals in the 20th round of the German Bundesliga.

The German giants extended their advantage to seven points in the standings despite an uninspired performance on Saturday, reports Xinhua news agency.

Last-minute goals from Arturo Vidal and Arjen Robben were enough to carve out a 2-0 win over resilient Ingolstadt.

The "Schanzer" were able to keep Bayern on the distance for most of the first half. Things changed after the half time as the visitors increased the pressure.

Bayern almost opened the scoring two minutes into the second half as Ingolstadt's Florent Hadergjonaj had to scratch Thomas Mueller's effort off the goal line.

The hosts came close as well as Mathew Leckie pulled just wide of the target following a corner in the 54th minute.

In the closing period, Bayern piled on the pace while Ingolstadt's strength clearly declined. Thus, the visitors broke the deadlock in the 89th minute when Vidal tapped home Mueller's cross from close range.

The front-runners were not done with the scoring as Robben doubled the lead after a solo run and goal in the 90th minute.

With the result, Bayern established a seven-point advantage in the standings while Ingolstadt stay on the 17th place.

In another match, runners-up Leipzig suffered their second straight loss and a surprising 3-0 defeat against relegation threatened Hamburg.

Leipzig started aggressively but yet the "HSV" ensured a bright start on the road as Kyriakos Papadoupolos nodded home a corner kick from central position to open the scoring after 18 minutes into the game.

Hamburg gained momentum and added another goal to their lead through Walace, who headed home a corner kick six minutes later. It is the first time this season that Leipzig conceded more than one goal on home soil.

The "Bulls" pressed on frenetically in the second half but Ralph Hasenhuettl's men lacked in accuracy to pull one back. Meanwhile, Hamburg rounded off the win with a third goal, as Aaron Hunt was on target in the dying minutes of the game.

With the win, Hamburg jumped away from the drop zone whereas second placed Leipzig suffer a setback in the title race.

Elsewhere, third-placed Frankfurt lost 3-0 to Bayer Leverkusen as Javier Hernandez scored twice.

Last-placed Darmstadt flabbergasted Borussia Dortmund 2-1, courtesy Antonio-Mirko Colak's decider.

Monchengladbach inflicted Bremen the fourth loss in a row following a 1-0 win and Schalke overcame Berlin 2-0.

--IANS

gau/vt