Lewk what 10-man Bayern can do !
HOT ROB GRABS A HAT-TRICK IN ROMP
Bayern Munich Stuttgart
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BAYERN MUNICH retained their four-point cushion at the top of the Bundesliga with a rout of Stuttgart – despite playing with 10 men for most of the match.
Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick after Alphonso Davies was sent off after just 12 minutes.
The result set up a mouthwatering clash with secondplaced RB Leipzig right after the international break.
Bayern boss Hansi Flick said: “Big congratulations to my team, we controlled the game as we remained sound defensively while we took our chances well.
“It’s not good that Davies picked up a red card so early in the game but the team responded really well, we stayed compact at the back and hit them at the other end.”
Canadian left-back Davies saw red for a studs-up challenge on Wataru Endo, with the referee initially brandishing a yellow card and then reversed his decision after a VAR check.
The dismissal only galvanised Bayern with Lewandowski firing them ahead five minutes later following Serge Gnabry’s cross from the right flank.
Gnabry soon extended the lead after a sweeping move involving Thomas Muller and Leroy Sane in the 22nd minute.
Lewandowski added the third less than 60 seconds later when he rose to head home a Muller cross.
The Pole added some gloss in the 39th minute with a clinical left-footed finish from inside the penalty area as he pounced on sloppy defending by Stuttgart after Sane’s jinking run down the right flank. Bayern took their feet off the pedal in the second half but despite their numerical disadvantage, they still dominated as Lewandowski and Gnabry missed chances to give them an even bigger win.
Lewandowski’s hat-trick made him the joint-second top scorer in Bundesliga history with 268 goals alongside Klaus Fischer, behind Bayern’s Gerd Muller who scored 385.
Lewandowski hailed Fischer and said he hoped his individual exploits would help the German and European club champions win more silverware.
“I always want my goals to help us win new titles,” he said.