Bayern extend lead, Dortmund stage goal festival in German Bundesliga

  Bayern Munich edged Cologne 3-0 to extend their lead atop the standings while Borussia Dortmund eased past Bayer Leverkusen 6-2 in the 23rd round of Bundesliga action on Saturday.

Goals from Javi Martinez, Juan Bernat and Franck Ribery secured Bayern Munich's 17th victory of the season.

The visitors took the reins and controlled the ball from the kick off yet Cologne ensured the first promising chance as Yuya Osako's header forced Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to make a diving safe into the top left corner with 19 minutes played.

Nevertheless, Bayern broke the deadlock moments later when Arturo Vidal's pass into the box found Javi Martinez, who poked home the opener from very close range in the 25th minute.

Carlo Ancelotti's men remained in control of the proceedings and doubled the lead three minutes after the restart as Juan Bernat capitalized on Thomas Mueller's build up play.

The front-runners rounded off their faultless performance in the dying minutes of the game when Franck Ribery made it 3-0 on the scoreboards following Bernat's assist.

With the result, Bayern increase their advantage to seven points atop the standings meanwhile Cologne stay on the 7th place after suffering the second straight loss.

Third-placed Borussia Dortmund close the gap to runners-up Leipzig after crushing Bayer Leverkusen 6-2 on home soil.

The "BVB" caught a bright start in front of 79100 spectators as Ousmane Dembele slotted home a blocked shot from the edge of the box with six minutes into the game.

Dortmund pressed Leverkusen into the defense and dominated the game. Their efforts paid off for a second time when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang nodded in a flicked on corner at the far post.

The Gabon international should have made it 3-0 but he failed to find the open goal in the 31st minute.

Bayer Leverkusen reduced the arrears out of the blue after the restart as Kevin Volland shrugged off Sokratis to complete his solo run with a goal in the 48th minute.

Dortmund continued with their offensively minded performance and restored their two-goal lead twenty minutes later after top striker Aubemayeang marked his 21st goal of the season following a cross from Dembele.

Leverkusen reduced the arrears again only five minutes later as Wendell curled a free kick over the wall into the top left corner to make it 3-2.

The hosts remained unimpressed and pushed relentlessly as Christian Pulisic extended the lead before goals from Andre Schuerrle and Raphael Guerreiro concluded the 6-2 goal festival on home soil.

The victory cements Dortmund's third place in the table while Leverkusen stay on the 8th place.

Elsewhere, fourth placed Hoffenheim remain on Dortmund's heels after humiliating relegation threatened Ingolstadt 5-2.

Max Kruse's brace helped Werder Bremen down last placed Darmstadt 2-0, and climb out of the relegation zone.

Mainz and Wolfsburg shared the spoils after playing out a 1-1 stalemate and Monchengladbach overcame Schalke 4-2 owing to the double strikes from Fabian Johnson.

The following fixtures complete the 23rd round in Bundesliga on Sunday: Eintracht Frankfurt host Freiburg and Hamburg encounter Hertha Berlin.

source: Xinhua