Germany round-up: Derby delight for Bayern

FC Bayern München maintained their eight-point advantage at the top of the 1. Bundesliga with an emphatic 5-0 away win at local rivals TSV 1860 München.

Scholl in scoring form
The first half at the Olympiastadion was a tight affair, but Bayern were much more lively after the half-time interval, with German international midfield player Mehmet Scholl opening the scoring 13 minutes into the second period.

Resounding victory
Scholl made it 2-0 ten minutes later, before further goals from Bixente Lizarazu and Claudio Pizarro and Scholl’s third ten minutes from time sealed a comprehensive win.

Title challenge
Second-placed BV Borussia Dortmund also won to keep their slim hopes of retaining the league title alive, securing a comfortable 4-1 home triumph against VfL Bochum 1848. The visitors took the lead after eight minutes through South African forward Delron Buckley, but goals from Giuseppe Reina and Jan Koller before half-time turned the match in Dortmund’s favour.

Penalty double
After the break, two penalties from midfield player Torsten Frings, in the 45th and 68th minute respectively, sealed a victory that moved Dortmund three points clear of third-placed VfB Stuttgart, who slipped to a 2-0 defeat at FC Schalke 04 after goals in either half from Emile Mpenza and Tomasz Hajto.

Relegation problems
At the other end of the table, there was further trouble for Bayer 04 Leverkusen as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at home to FC Hansa Rostock. Togan international striker Bachiro Salou gave Hansa the lead after 35 minutes, only for Marko Babic to equalise for Leverkusen three minutes later. However, Salou restored the away side’s advantage four minutes before half-time and Hansa held on for a win that further increased the pressure on Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmöller, who has seen his side win just once in their last nine league games.

Important point
Leverkusen are fourth from bottom but could slide into the relegation zone on Sunday when the side immediately below them, FC Borussia Mönchengladbach, play Hertha BSC Berlin. Meanwhile, 1. FC Kaiserslautern took a valuable away point at DSC Arminia Bielefeld, but it could have been even better for Eric Gerets’ team, who took the lead through Vratislav Lokvenc in the 27th minute. Bastian Reinhardt levelled eight minutes later.

Bremen slip up
Elsewhere, 1. FC Nürnberg dented SV Werder Bremen’s hopes of UEFA Champions League qualification with a surprise 1-0 win thanks to Lars Müller’s decisive goal three minutes before half-time. Bremen lost striker Markus Daun to a red card thirteen minutes after the interval.

Hamburg win
Hamburger SV secured a 2-0 victory at home to VfL Wolfsburg, with Rodolfo Cardoso opening the scoring in the 38th minute after Wolfsburg’s Robson Ponte had been dismissed. Collin Benjamin’s last-minute strike sealed Hamburg’s win, while the visitors were reduced to nine men by Tomislav Maric’s late sending off.