Bayern down Schalke 3-1, Wolfsburg crush Bremen in Bundesliga

Berlin: Bavarian football giants Bayern Munich edged Schalke 3-1 to extend the lead atop the standings while third-placed VfL Wolfsburg clean swept SV Werder Bremen 6-0 at the 13th round of Bundesliga.

Schalke were on Saturday able to hold the pace with Bayern until the break. Things changed after the interval as Bayern picked up the pace to secure the win thanks to Javi Martinez and Thomas Mueller, reports Xinhua.

Bayern caught a bright start at Schalke as David Alaba opened the scoring with a deflected shot into the top right corner in the 9th minute. 

The "Royal Blues" remained unimpressed and restored parity though Max Mayer, who made use of Leroy Sane's build-up play to beat Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer into the bottom right corner with 17 minutes into the encounter.

Schalke gained momentum with the equaliser, giving uninspired Bayern a hard time to work out promising opportunities. 

Nevertheless, after the restart Schalke remained passive and kept all their players behind the ball. As a consequence, Bayern took the rein to grab the lead for the second time as Arjen Robben's cross into the box found Martinez in the 69th minute.

Schalke were shocked whilst Bayern kept it bowling to add another goal to their lead after Mueller's low shot into the far post corner beat Schalke keeper Ralf Faehrmann for the final score.

Bayern's 12th win at the 13th round increase their advantage to eight points atop the table while Schalke slip from the fifth to the seventh place.

Wolfsburg showed no mercy and crushed Bremen 6-0 to defend the third place in the standings.

The "Wolves" took over from the beginning and pressed the visitors into defense. It took only 12 minutes before Wolfsburg grabbed the lead as Bremen defender Alejandro Galvez cleared Christian Traesch's cross into his own goal.

The hosts continued their relentless run on Bremen's goal yet they had to wait until the 44th minute before Max Kruse headed home for the 2-0 lead following Vieirinha's free kick cross into the box.

After the restart, the hosts started where they left off as Vieirinha got his name again on the scoreboard after volleying home Marcel Schaefer's cross to the far post in the 56th minute.

Bremen were unable to put up some resistance meanwhile Wolfsburg still weren't done with the scoring. Substitutes Joshua Guilavogui and Bas Dost made it 5-0 before Max Kruse wrapped up his brace to round off the 6-0 win on home soil.

With the seventh win of the season, Wolfsburg bolster up the third place whereas Bremen suffered their eighth loss to remain on the 14th place.

Borussia Monchengladbach reaped the seventh win of the season as Raffael's winner moved them 2-1 past resilient Hannover.

Hannover caught the hosts almost flatfooted as Monchengladbach's Tony Jantschke had to clear Artur Sobiech's effort off the goal line to avoid a deficit with five minutes into the game. 

As the match progressed, Monchengladbach gained a foothold into the game to break the deadlock in the 35th minute through Ibrahima Traore, who beat Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler from sharp angle.

However, the visitors grabbed the reins after the break to level the scores. Monchengladbach failed to clear the ball following a corner allowing Sobiech to poke home from very close range in the 61st minute.

Monchengladbach remained unfazed and snatched the victory in the dying minutes of the game as Raffael turned in Andreas Christensen cross from six metres to seal the deal.

With the result, Monchengladbach jump from the sixth to the fourth place for the moment while Hannover record the eighth loss to stay on the 15th place.