Bayern rout Frankfurt to stay 13-points clear

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich maintained their 13-point lead with a 5-0 home romp against Eintracht Frankfurt to extend their record 44-match unbeaten run on Sunday. Bayern ran riot against strugglers Frankfurt with Mario Goetze, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and centre-back Dante all getting on the scoresheet at Munich's Allianz Arena. Spain's Thiago Alcantara set a new Bundesliga record with 185 ball contacts as Bayern's midfield dominated. "They showed from the start who was the boss," enthused ex-Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer. "At the break they could have been three of four-nil ahead." Germany star Goetze put the hosts ahead when he chested down Mario Mandzukic's cross and slammed his shot inside the far post with only 12 minutes gone. France star Ribery then proved he has recovered from a leg injury when he added Bayern's second just before the break. Likewise, Robben came off the bench and fired home Goetze's final pass to put his leg injury behind him on 67 minutes before Dante headed Bayern's fourth two minutes later. Fittingly, Mandzukic, who was dropped ten days ago for poor training performances, netted their fifth on 89 minutes and was mobbed by his team-mates. "He has reacted really well and today was a super performance," enthused Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer. This was Bayern's 17th win in 19 games and they have conceded just nine league goals. The European champions now face Freiburg, Hamburg and Nuremberg, who are all in the bottom four, before their Champions League last 16, first-leg match at Arsenal on February 19. Earlier, ten-man Nuremberg climbed out of the bottom three for the first time since October with only their second win of the season after Sunday's 3-1 victory at Hertha Berlin to climb to 15th. Nuremberg's Swiss striker Josip Drmic scored twice, including a penalty deep in added time to claim his second brace in as many weeks. There was drama on the stroke of 90 minutes when Nuremberg midfielder Ondrej Petrak was sent off for saving a shot with his hand. Despite furious protests from Hertha, referee Michael Weiner did not award the home team a penalty as Berlin's Ramos had fired from an offside position. On Saturday, second-placed Bayer Leverkusen broke their three-match losing streak with a 2-1 win at home to VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok headed home Leverkusen's winner six minutes from time. Stuttgart's Moritz Leitner had given the visitors an early lead before Bayer striker Stefan Kiessling equalised in the first half. Schalke 04 moved up to fourth with a 2-1 victory at home to ten-man VfL Wolfsburg with Ghana midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng firing home the winner nine minutes from time. The Royal Blues, who have lost just once in nine games, had taken an early lead after a scrappy goal was credited to Brazilian centre-back Felipe Santana as both he and Boateng lunged for the ball. Wolfsburg drew level despite being down to 10 men, after Daniel Caligiuri was sent off for insulting the referee five minutes into the second-half, when teenager Maximilian Arnold fired home on 65 minutes. But Boateng then fired home the winner for his sixth goal of the season to give Schalke their second straight win. Hanover 96's revival under new coach Tayfun Korkut continued as they earned a 3-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach with Senegal's Mame Diouf scoring twice. There was a strong South Korean influence in Mainz's 2-0 win at home to Freiburg as Park Joo-Ho and Koo Ja-Cheol netted to lift Mainz to seventh. Werder Bremen's poor form continues as they suffered a 3-1 defeat at Augsburg with the visitors finishing up with ten men. Hamburg's slump also as they were drubbed 3-0 at Hoffenheim, leaving Bert van Marwijk's side second from bottom as they suffered their fifth straight defeat. On Friday, third-placed Borussia Dortmund picked up their first win in five league games with a 2-1 victory at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig with Gabon winger Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring both goals. From: AFP