Bayern go second on German table

Berlin, Jan. 20: Robert Lewandowski hit his 20th league goal this season as Bayern Munich climbed to second in the Bundesliga Sunday with a 4-0 romp at Hertha Berlin to trim RB Leipzig’s lead to four points.

Having seen RB Leipzig go five points clear with a 3-1 win over Union Berlin on Saturday, Bayern climbed a place in the table with second-half goals by Thomas Mueller, Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara and Ivan Perisic.

“We eventually made Hertha tired, but we were too patient and not threatening enough in the first half,” said Mueller who set up Perisic to claim his 12th league assist this season.

“We raised the tempo after the break and once we got the breakthrough, Hertha didn’t fight back,” he added.

After Timo Werner had edged ahead of him as the league’s top scorer with two goals against Union, Lewandowski drew level with his main rival’s tally of 20 by converting a penalty.

Lewandowski and Werner are now the first players in Bundesliga history to have scored 20 goals after 18 games in their challenge to Gerd Mueller’s record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season, set in 1971/72.

After a groin injury last month, Lewandowski proved his fitness with an lively display at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

He now has 31 goals in 26 games in all competitions, including 10 in just five Champions League games.

There was good news before kick-off for Hertha coach Jurgen Klinsmann as the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed his coaching licence is valid after doubts emerged last week over whether the certificate earned in 2000 had expired.