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Wolfsburg crush Bayern Munich 4-1 in German Bundesliga's top clash

Xinhua, January 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Second placed Wolfsburg upset front-runners Bayern Munich 4-1 at the curtain raiser of the second half of the season in Bundesliga on Friday.

The German record champions suffered the worst possible start into the second half of the season as they sustained their first loss of the season. Wolfsburg staged a clinical performance to shock Bayern with two first half goals by Bas Dost and two second half goals by Kevin De Bruyne.

Wolfsburg caught a bright start on home soil as they broke the deadlock with just four minutes into the game when Bas Dost made use of Kevin De Bruyne's square pass to slot home into the far post corner following a fast break.

Bayern were shocked and unable to get a foothold into the game meanwhile Wolfsburg's fast breaks remained a threat for Bayern's defence. As a consequence, Wolfsburg were able to double the lead just before the break, against hapless visitors from Bavaria, as Bas Dost sealed his brace when he hammered home a failed clearance attempt into the top right corner.

After the restart the hosts started where they left off whereas Bayern were still in search for their rhythm. Wolfsburg continued with their clinical fast breaks and they were again successful as De Bruyne tripled the lead by beating Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer one-on-one into the bottom right with eight minutes into the second half.

Bayern were finally able to reduce the arrears to 3-1 through Juan Bernat who poked home a rebound from very close range minutes later. However, things went from bad to worse for Bayern as De Bruyne restored the three-goal lead at the 73rd minute when he made use of a counter attack to overcome Bayern defender Dante and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer single-handed, putting the game beyond doubt.

With the win second-placed Wolfsburg reduced Bayern's advantage to eight points on top of the table.

"We would not have dreamed this victory but we played very smart today," Wolfsburg manager Klaus Allofs said after the game.

The 18th round of Bundesliga continues Sunday with the following fixtures: Schalke host Hannover, Mainz face newly promoted Paderborn, Freiburg meet Frankfurt, Stuttgart see Monchengladbach, Hamburg encounters newly promoted Cologne and Leverkusen clash Dortmund. Endi