Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich demolished his old club Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena once more.
Second-placed Schalke’s win earlier in the day meant Bayern could not seal the title against Dortmund, but they showed no sign of any disappointment as they netted five times before half-time alone.
Having beaten Dortmund at home 5-1 and 4-1 in the league in the previous two seasons, Bayern’s margin of victory was even greater this time as James Rodriguez, Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery also scored in a 6-0 triumph.
The demolition job began in the fifth minute when Lewandowski latched on to Muller’s through ball, feinted to make goalkeeper Roman Burki sit down and lifted the finish beyond him.
Replays showed the Pole may have just strayed beyond Manuel Akanji when Muller’s pass was made, but Dortmund did get a decision go their way from the video assistant referee when Ribery thought he had scored moments later.
Although the goal was initially allowed to stand, replays showed Rodriguez got a touch on Muller’s cross and Ribery was therefore offside.
Yet Dortmund did not learn from their dreadful defending there as Rodriguez ghosted into the box and steered a finish beyond Burki from David Alaba’s pull back.
It was Gonzalo Castro who had failed to track Rodriguez and when the Dortmund midfielder attempted to nutmeg the same player, Bayern broke to score a 23rd-minute third.
Lewandowski fed Rodriguez and his perfectly-weighted chip in to Muller allowed the German international to place home a controlled volley.
Castro was substituted for Julian Weigl shortly afterwards but there was to be no let-up from the hosts as they scored twice more on the stroke of half-time.
The first was made by Ribery’s brilliance, as he turned Lukasz Piszczek to bear down on Burki. Though his chipped attempt did not go over the goalkeeper, the ball came back and inadvertently hit a hurdling Ribery on the arm, with Lewandowski sliding in to touch the ball beyond the line via Ribery’s back.
Ribery might not have been able to claim that one but there was no doubt he scored the fifth.
Castro’s replacement Weigl inexplicably gave the ball away to the Bayern winger and he fed Rodriguez, who returned the pass to Ribery for him to scoop a classy goal past Burki.
With the damage already done, and Bayern thinking about the first leg of their Champions League tie with Sevilla next week, the second half was largely a non-entity.
The closest the visitors came to a consolation occurred when ex-Bayern midfielder Mario Gotze hit the post from the edge of the area.
Jupp Heynckes kept Lewandowski on the pitch and Bayern’s striker must have been grateful, as he was for more slack Dortmund defending when he rounded off the rout by tapping in Joshua Kimmich’s cross from close range to complete his hat-trick three minutes from time.
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