Lewandowski double puts Bayern six points clear
Robert Lewandowski reached 17 goals for Bayern Munich this season as his brace lifted the Bundesliga leaders six points clear with a 3-0 thumping of Augsburg on Saturday. Lewandowski underlined his status as the league's top scorer by netting either side of the break in Munich to leave him with 13 goals in 12 league games this season. Bayern looked impressive with Lewandowski showing off his finishing skills after Arturo Vidal gave the hosts a deserved lead after 31 minutes at the Allianz Arena. "In the first half, we didn't really move well enough in attack, therefore we had very few clear chances," said the Poland international, who has dyed his hair silver. "However, we stayed patient and after the first goal it got a bit easier for us." Vidal struck after the ball ricocheted around Augsburg's penalty area as Lewandowski and Mats Hummels failed to get shots away before the Chile midfielder hit the back of the net. Lewandowski grabbed his first by firing home Vidal's pass just before the break, then grabbed his second on 49 minutes when he converted Joshua Kimmich's pinpoint cross. The victory was a good warm-up for Wednesday's Champions League match at Anderlecht and increased Bayern's lead over second-placed RB Leipzig, who drew 2-2 at ten-man Bayer Leverkusen. - Leipzig held - Germany striker Timo Werner converted an early penalty, but the hosts equalised when Jamaica midfielder Leon Bailey got in behind the defence and fired home a minute before the break. Leipzig were furious as the equaliser came even as their midfielder Naby Keita was down injured. Emil Forsberg scored another spot-kick on 54 minutes to restore Leipzig's lead after Benjamin Henrichs was sent off for using his hand to save a shot on the line. But a wonderful Kevin Volland volley with 16 minutes to go put Leverkusen level despite the numerical disadvantage. A draw was not the best result for Leipzig before Tuesday's crucial Champions League match at Monaco. Borussia Moenchengladbach shot up from eighth to third with a 4-2 win at Hertha Berlin. Gladbach raced into a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes with goals by Lars Stindl, Thorgan Hazard and a thunderbolt of a shot from Brazilian forward Raffael, before Vedad Ibisevic pulled a goal back for a shell-shocked Hertha. Ex-Bayern midfielder Mitchell Weiser made it 3-2 when he scored after Salomon Kalou chested on a free-kick, but soon after Raffael hit the top corner for his second goal with 13 minutes left to seal the win. Striker Mark Uth rescued a point for fourth-placed Hoffenheim with a 91st-minute goal, converting a superb Serge Gnabry cross to seal a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, who are sixth. Frankfurt had taken the lead when Kevin-Prince Boateng hit a super first-half solo effort, snapping up a stray pass and slamming home his shot from outside the area. Cologne remain rooted to the bottom after their 1-0 defeat at mid-table Mainz, who took the lead with a controversial penalty which was converted by Daniel Brosinski. Mainz played the last 20 minutes with 10 men after Italian defender Giulio Donati was sent off. Wolfsburg extended their unbeaten run to nine games after a 3-1 win at home to Freiburg as Turkey midfielder Yunus Malli netted twice. Borussia Dortmund are now fourth after suffering a third straight defeat on Friday by crashing to a 2-1 loss at VfB Stuttgart. Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was suspended and Stuttgart went ahead with five minutes gone when Chadrac Akolo scored after a mix up between Dortmund defender Marc Bartra and his goalkeeper Roman Burki. Maximilian Philipp equalised for Borussia, but Josip Brekalo's shot through Burki's legs sealed Stuttgart's win, while Dortmund have dropped 14 points in just five league games.
