Defenders fired Bayern Munich three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 5-3 rout of Augsburg in their Bavarian derby.
João Cancelo opened the scoring and Benjamin Pavard grabbed two goals before Alphonso Davies continued the trend of defenders scoring with Bayern’s fifth goal in the 74th.
Leroy Sané also scored for the 10-time defending champions to increase the pressure on Borussia Dortmund ahead of the late game. Dortmund needed to beat relegation-threatened Schalke in the Ruhr derby in Gelsenkirchen to stay level on points with Bayern.
Leipzig moved to third with a 3-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, and there were 1-1 draws between Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart, and Hertha Berlin and Mainz.
Hertha was playing its first game since the club confirmed Miami-based 777 Partners had taken over as a majority shareholder.
In Munich, Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha riled the home team when he scored in the second minute after Pavard failed to clear the ball.
It left Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann cursing on the sideline, but Cancelo – making a rare start – equalized in the 15th, and then Pavard atoned for his mistake by scoring four minutes after that and adding another with a stylish volley in the 35th. Sané made it 4-1 before the break.
Berisha pulled one back with a penalty early in the second half but the result was never in doubt. Irvin Cardona scored Augsburg’s consolation in injury time.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)