Bayern Munich march on, Monchengladbach drop points in Bundesliga

Bayern Munich continued their relentless run with a 2-0 win over Berlin meanwhile Monchengladbach squandered their lead to share points with last-placed Hoffenheim in the 14th round of German Bundesliga on Saturday.

   Front-runners Bayern Munich wrapped their third straight victory in the league after beating passive Berlin with two first-half goals in a one-sided affair at outsold Allianz Arena.

   Josep Guardiola's men grasped the nettle from the kick-off as Berlin implemented a defensively minded strategy. As a consequence, Bayern nearly broke the deadlock with 10 minutes into the game but the left post denied Robert Lewandowski's effort.

   The hosts pressed but struggled to overcome Berlin's bulwark in the opening period but things changed at the 34th minute as Thomas Mueller headed home a flicked on corner kick to mark the opener and his 13th goal of the season from two meters.

   Bayern gained momentum and doubled the lead only seven minutes later as Kingsley Coman finished a volley by Javier Martinez to slot home from inside the box. Despite the 2-0 deficit Berlin never changed their passive strategy meanwhile Bayern lacked in accuracy to extend their lead at the second half.

   With the 13th win from 14 games, Bayern consolidate their position atop the standings while Berlin slumped to the fifth place after suffering their first loss after a two-game winning streak.

   Monchengladbach extended their unbeaten streak under new head coach Andre Schubert to nine games as they held Hoffenheim to a 3-3 draw in a seesaw encounter.

   The "Foals" caught a fairy-tale start against hosts Hoffenheim as Fabian Johnson utilized Mahmoud Dahoud's pinpoint through-ball into the box to beat custodian Oliver Baumann with six minutes into the game.

   Hoffenheim remained unimpressed and responded only six minutes later through Steven Zuber, who nodded home Nadiem Amiri's corner kick. The hosts kept it going and grabbed the lead for the first time as Eugen Polanski's deflected shot on target overcame Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 35th minute.

   Hoffenheim weren't done with the scoring as Amiri intercepted Lars Stindl's weak return pass to curl the ball past Sommer for the 3-1 lead with one minutes into the second half.

   However, Monchengladbach bounced back as Stindl's precise cross into the box found Josip Drmic, who reduced the arrears before Johnson wrapped up his brace in the dying minutes of the game to secure his side a 3-3 draw on the road.

   With the result, Hoffenheim wait for their first win since seven games to stay in the Bundesliga bottom whereas Monchengladbach jumped on the fourth place.

   Bremen suffered their fifth loss in a row on home soil as Hamburg clinched a 3-1 victory at the 103rd "Nordderby".

   Hamburg ensured a quick start on the road as Ivo Ilicevic broke the deadlock with just three minutes on the clock after beating Bremen goalie Felix Wiedwald with a hammer from inside the box into the roof of the net.

   Bremen lacked in penetration whilst Hamburg capitalised on a deflected free kick by Michael Gregoritsch to double the lead in the 26th minute.

   After the break, Bremen turned up but neither Santiago Garcia nor Fin Bartels were capable to make use of promising opportunities. Anthony Ujah cut a better figure in front of Hamburg's goal at the 62nd minute as the striker profited on a long ball into the penalty area to cut the deficit to 1-2.

   However, the "HSV" had an ace in the hole as Nicolai Mueller's solo run and goal put the game beyond doubt six minutes later.

   After suffering the ninth defeat of the season, Bremen find themselves just three points adrift of the drop zone while Hamburg climb onto the 6th place.

   Elsewhere, Mainz edged 10-men Frankfurt 2-1 by courtesy of the first-half goal by Yoshinori Muto and Yunus Malli, who sealed the sixth win of the season for the "Nullfuenfer".

   Hannover return to winning ways after crushing newly promoted Ingolstadt 4-0 on home soil thanks to the goals by Marcelo, Leon Andreasen, Kenan Karaman and Uffe Bech.

   The following fixtures conclude the 14th round of Bundesliga on Sunday: runner-up Dortmund clash with struggling Stuttgart, relegation threatened Augsburg host third placed Wolfsburg and Leverkusen encounter Schalke. Endi