Bayern Munich batter Werder Bremen as Borussia Dortmund dominate Mainz

Berlin – Bayern Munich recovered from a goal down to demolish Werder Bremen 6-1 on Saturday, as they arrested a form slump which had seen them lose their last two league games.

They looked ragged for most of the first half and went behind when Werder Bremen’s Milot Rashica turned a sluggish-looking Jerome Boateng inside out before smashing home from outside the box.

But the Bundesliga champions struck through Philippe Coutinho and Robert Lewandowski on the stroke of half-time to go into the break in the lead and dominated the second-half.

Coutinho sealed a hat-trick and Lewandowski a brace, while Thomas Mueller also chipped in with a goal for them to move from seventh to fourth.

Borussia Dortmund, in third place, thumped Mainz 4-0, while Cologne beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0.

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Juergen Klinsmann clinched his first win as Hertha Berlin boss with a 1-0 defeat of Freiburg, while Paderborn and Union Berlin drew 1-1.

Second-placed RB Leipzig are away to struggling Fortuna Dusseldorf later on Saturday.

P W D L F A Pts
1 Bor. Moenchengladbach 14 10 1 3 30 16 31
2 Leipzig 14 9 3 2 39 16 30
3 Borussia Dortmund 15 8 5 2 37 19 29
4 Bayern Munich 15 8 3 4 41 21 27
5 Schalke 14 7 4 3 25 18 25
6 Freiburg 15 7 4 4 24 18 25
7 Bayer Leverkusen 15 7 4 4 22 20 25
8 Hoffenheim 15 6 3 6 21 27 21
9 Wolfsburg 14 5 5 4 15 14 20
10 Union Berlin 15 6 2 7 19 20 20
11 Augsburg 15 5 5 5 24 28 20
12 Eintracht Frankfurt 14 5 3 6 24 22 18
13 Hertha Berlin 15 4 3 8 21 29 15
14 Mainz 15 5 0 10 20 38 15
15 Werder Bremen 15 3 5 7 23 35 14
16 Dusseldorf 14 3 3 8 16 29 12
17 Cologne 15 3 2 10 14 30 11
18 Paderborn 15 2 3 10 18 33 9
(dpa/NAN)