Bayern regain Bundesliga lead with 6-0 rout of Wolfsburg

Bayern Munich trounced visiting Wolfsburg 6-0 to wrest back the top spot in the Bundesliga standings from Borussia Dortmund, who earned a hard-fought 3-1 win over Stuttgart.

With the Matchday 25 victory at Allianz Arena on Saturday, Bayern (57 points) have a slight edge based on goal differential and finally ended Dortmund's long stranglehold on first place dating back to the sixth round of the German league season.

German winger Serge Gnabry opened the scoring for Bayern four minutes after the half-hour mark when he connected on a cross from teammate Thomas Müller inside the six-yard-box.

Just three minutes later, Gnabry took on the role of playmaker and set up Robert Lewandowski for a tap-in that gave Bayern a 2-0 lead.

That goal was the 196th in the Bundesliga for the Polish superstar, who now is the highest-scoring foreign player in league history.

After the break, Colombian winger James Rodriguez gave Bayern a 3-0 lead in the 52nd minute with a remarkable finish off a pass from midfielder Thiago Alcantara.

Super-sub Franck Ribery then assisted on three goals after taking the field in the 55th minute as a replacement for Gnabry.

Ribery set Müller up for Bayern's fourth goal in the 76th minute before assisting on a score by German right-back Joshua Kimmich six minutes later.

Lewandowski then benefited from yet another assist from the Frenchman to complete his brace in the 85th minute and cap off a ruthless performance by the six-time defending Bundesliga champions.

In other action Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated visiting VfB Stuttgart 3-1 at Signal Iduna Park to claim just their second triumph in their last six Bundesliga matches.

After a scoreless first half, German playmaker Marco Reus got his team on the board by converting from the 12-yard mark in the 62nd minute.

Although the home side completely dominated ball possession, Stuttgart managed to draw level on a goal by German defender Marc-Oliver Kempf nine minutes later.

But Spanish striker Paco Alcacer gave Dortmund the lead for good with a goal in the 84th minute, while substitute forward Christian Pulisic of the United States notched an insurance goal in second-half stoppage time.

In other Bundesliga action Saturday, RB Leipzig and Augsburg played to a scoreless draw at the Red Bull Arena, while 12th-placed Freiburg topped ninth-placed Hertha Berlin 2-1 at Schwarzwald-Stadion.

--IANS

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