Bayern hit another six in Hertha hammering
Reuters - Saturday 17 March 2012, 21:33
Bayern Munich continued their
astonishing scoring run by demolishing Hertha Berlin 6-0 away on
Saturday with Arjen Robben scoring a hat-trick as the Bavarians
took their tally to 20 goals in three matches.
Having beaten Hoffenheim 7-1 in the Bundesliga one week ago
and FC Basel 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, Bayern
raced into a 3-0 lead after 19 minutes at Hertha Berlin on an
evening when three of their goals came from penalties.
Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez, who took his
tally to eight in three games, shared the other goals.
"That was a very impressive performance from the first
seconds, the team has played outstanding football on a very
difficult pitch," said Bayern sports director Christian
Nerlinger.
"We must continue playing like this. If we can play with so
much concentration and so convincingly, then we are certainly on
the right path."
Bayern kept up the pressure on leaders Borussia Dortmund,
who beat Werder Bremen 1-0 with an early Shinji Kagawa strike,
while Hamburg SV's relegation worries increased with a 3-1 home
defeat by fellow strugglers Freiburg.
Kagawa scored his ninth goal of the season as Dortmund, who
also hit the woodwork twice in the first half, extended their
unbeaten Bundesliga run to a club record 20 games.
The champions have 59 points from 26 games, five clear of
Bayern. Borussia Monchengladbach, who snatched a 2-1 win at
Bayer Leverkusen with Igor de Camargo's 88th-minute goal, are
third on 51.
EVER-PRESENT HAMBURG
Six-times champions Hamburg, the only ever-present team
since the Bundesliga was founded in 1963, remain 14th with 27
points but are now only two clear of Freiburg, who are 16th in
the relegation play-off spot.
Poor Hamburg defending allowed Johannes Flum and Daniel
Caligiuri to put Freiburg 2-0 ahead by half-time.
Cedrick Makiadi fired in the third following a well-worked
free-kick in the 72nd minute before Ivo Ilicevic grabbed a
consolation for Thorsten Fink's troubled side, who have taken
one point from their last five matches.
Bayern winger Franck Ribery, who tormented Hertha all match,
began by bursting down the left and pulling the ball back for
Muller to score from close range in the ninth minute.
Muller turned provider to set up the second for Robben
three minutes later and the Dutchman was on target again in the
19th minute, converting a penalty awarded for a foul on Muller.
Kroos cleared an Adrian Ramos header off the line as
Hertha tried to claw their way back into the game but two goals
in as many minutes after half-time killed off the contest.
Ribery went down after Adrian Morales appeared to touch his
shoulder and Gomez scored the penalty in the 50th minute
for his 22nd league goal of the season.
One minute later, Christoph Janker lost possession to Robben
as he tried to play his way out of defence. The Dutchman's shot
was saved by Thomas Kraft only for Kroos to fire in the rebound.
Robben completed his hat-trick by converting another soft
penalty, awarded for an innocuous challenge by Ramos on Ribery.
"We didn't get the two flank players Ribery and Robben under
control. We were inferior for the whole match and Bayern have
shown what an outstanding team they are," said Hertha coach Otto
Rehhagel.