Following a 6-1 victory over Werder Bremen, Serge Gnabry scored a hat-trick to help Bayern Munich move four points clear atop the Bundesliga standings.
For Julian Nagelsmann's team, at least four goals were scored in a fourth straight home league game with goals from Jamal Musiala, Leon Goretzka, and Mathys Tel also finding the back of the net. This tied a club record. But it wasn't all good news for Bayern, as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting saw a penalty saved, while Sadio Mane hobbled off less than two weeks before the start of the World Cup.
Werder had temporarily tied the score early on thanks to Anthony Jung, but they have lost all 30 of their encounters with Bayern. After Mane's initial shot was blocked, Musiala calmly slid the ball into the far corner to give Bayern the lead in the sixth minute. Werder drew even four minutes later when Jung tucked home from Mitchell Weiser's lay-off.
The hosts reclaimed the lead in the 22nd minute as Gnabry curled a magnificent effort beyond Jiri Pavlenka despite Choupo-Moting having his penalty saved and Mane walking off hurt.
Bayern then quickly followed up with two counter attacks against their adversaries. Prior to Leroy Sane latching onto Choupo-accurate Moting's pass and squaring for Gnabry to score into an empty net, Goretzka made it 3-1 by racing onto Joshua Kimmich's through ball and rounding Pavlenka.
After the break, Julian Nagelsmann's team didn't really slow down as Sane struck the post and Pavlenka stopped Gnabry from scoring a hat-trick with a lob. He was able to poke the ball home in the 82nd minute after deftly stepping inside a number of challenges, and Tels added the finishing touch two minutes later with a strong strike into the top corner.
WHY DOES THAT MATTER? BAYERN HAS WON NINE STRAIGHT.
Another impressive Bayern victory at home increased their Bundesliga goal total to 47, which is more than any other team in the top five leagues in Europe.
The Bavarians now have nine straight victories in all competitions, which is their greatest run in more than a year as they take over first place in the league.
GNABRY HAT-TRICK
Bayern's offensive was led by hat-trick hero Gnabry, who finished with three goals on the strength of a game-high five shots and four on target.
The German international's treble is his first for the Bundesliga champions since his hat-trick in a 5-0 victory over Stuttgart 11 months ago, and it is the fourth time he has scored three or more goals in a game for them.
NEXT, WHAT?
Bayern travels to Schalke on Saturday for their penultimate Bundesliga game before the World Cup takes center stage after watching second-placed Freiburg in action on Wednesday. On the same day, Werder will attempt to answer RB Leipzig at home.
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