Faisal Salisu DambattaBayern Munich netted three goals in the final half hour to secure a 3-0 victory against a 10-man Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday, maintaining a five-point lead at the top of the standings.
Joshua Kimmich, Raphael Guerreiro, and young talent Lennart Karl all contributed to the scoreline as Bayern achieved 13 victories from 13 matches across all competitions this season.
This marked only the second occasion this season that Harry Kane, who had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half, did not find the back of the net.
Gladbach’s Jens Castrop made contact with Luis Diaz’s shin with 19 minutes played and was dismissed after his yellow card was upgraded to red following a VAR review.
Despite having a one-man advantage, Bayern — who made six alterations including Jonas Urbig stepping in for captain Manuel Neuer in goal — struggled to find their rhythm against their last-placed rivals.
Kimmich opened the scoring for the visitors after 64 minutes, powering through a congested penalty area, and Guerreiro added a second just five minutes later, finishing off a delightful team move.
Gladbach’s chances of salvaging anything from the match were further diminished when Kevin Stoeger struck a penalty against the post with 15 minutes remaining.
With nine minutes to go, 17-year-old Karl delivered a spectacular curling shot to seal the victory for the defending champions.
RB Leipzig cruised to a 6-0 triumph at Augsburg with six different players scoring, solidifying their hold on second place, four points ahead of third-placed Stuttgart.
Yan Diomande, Romulo, Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner, Assan Ouedraogo, and Castello Lukeba all found the net as Leipzig handed Augsburg their most significant home defeat in league history.
Following their 6-0 defeat to Bayern in the season opener, Leipzig has secured 19 out of a possible 21 points over seven matches, allowing only three goals to be scored against them.
Eintracht Frankfurt recovered from their 5-1 loss to Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday by defeating St Pauli 2-0 at home, with Jonathan Burkardt netting both goals.
The German striker Burkardt, who also scored twice last week against Freiburg, has accumulated six goals in seven league appearances this season.
In other news, Wolfsburg achieved their first victory since August, winning 1-0 at Hamburg, with Adam Daghim providing the sole goal.
Hamburg’s winger Ransford-Yeboah Koenigsdoerffer missed a penalty in the first half, marking the third consecutive occasion he has failed to score from the spot.
Hoffenheim triumphed over the struggling Heidenheim with a score of 3-1.
In the late match on Saturday, Borussia Dortmund has the opportunity to rise to third place with a home win against Cologne.
