Freiburg rout Stuttgart as Heynckes’ ‘top class’ Bayern looms in midweek

BERLIN: Freiburg warmed up for the visit of league leaders Bayern Munich in midweek with an impressive 3-0 victory at home to VfB Stuttgart yesterday to break into the Bundesliga’s top six.

Bayern will be the visitors on Wednesday, with a round of Bundesliga matches being played midweek, and they can expect a tough match at Freiburg’s Mage Solar Stadion based on yesterday’s display.

Just moments after Stuttgart’s Serbia midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic had slammed his shot off the post, Freiburg took the lead at the other end when Jan Rosenthal fired home from just outside the penalty area on 22 minutes.

Freiburg turned the screw in the second-half as Czech Republic defender Pavel Krmas netted their second on 67 minutes, then midfielder Max Kruse netted the third just six minutes later.

Having seen off Hanover 96 2-1 last weekend, Freiburg are now unbeaten in their last four league games, while defeat leaves Stuttgart 12th in the league.

Meanwhile, Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes rated the Bundesliga leader’s performance as “top class” after they hammered Hanover 5-0 to extend their lead at the top of the table to nine points.

“It was a thoroughly deserved victory and we were top class, because we were very assertive and aggressive from the start. We kept it tighter than we have done recently,” enthused Heynckes. “We needed total concentration, especially in defence, but the team showed that brilliantly for 90 minutes.”

Bayern ran riot at the Allianz Arena and set another Bundesliga record of 34 points after the first 13 games while defending champions Borussia Dortmund moved up to second in the table with a 2-1 win at Mainz on Saturday.

Dortmund travel to face Bayern at Munich’s Allianz Arena next Saturday in a key Bundesliga showdown.

Bayern took the lead with only four minutes gone when Spain midfielder Javi Martinez netted his first goal since his August transfer from Athletic Bilbao.

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos then doubled the Bavarians’ lead on 24 minutes then France wing Franck Ribery fired home on 37 minutes before Brazil centre-back Dante made it 4-0 when he met Kroos’ freekick at the far post on 63 minutes.

Germany striker Mario Gomez needed just 26 seconds to claim the fifth after coming off the bench on 67 minutes for his first Bayern goal in three months following ankle surgery.

“After such a long time with no football, it’s a wonderful feeling to play and score again,” he said.

“The goal was incredible, I was really elated, and I remembered how much football matters to me.”