Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 home win over Stuttgart despite having Alphonso Davies sent off in the 12th minute.
Stuttgart chief executive Thomas Hitzlsperger described Lewandowski’s performance as “something above world class”.
The result keeps Bayern four points clear at the top after second-placed RB Leipzig won 1-0 at Arminia Bielefeld on Friday.
Lewandowski has now scored 35 league goals this season to leave him just five short of Gerd Mueller’s all-time Bundesliga record of 40, set in 1971/72.
“I just keep thinking from game to game and not how many more goals I have to score,” said Lewandowski, who netted with his left foot, right foot and head to make it a ‘perfect’ hat-trick.
Davies received an early red card at the Allianz Arena for a tackle on the ankle of Stuttgart’s Japan midfielder Wataru Endo.
“After that we woke up,” said Lewandowski. Bayern responded with a burst of three goals in five minutes.
Lewandowski beat two defenders to tap home a Serge Gnabry cross on 18 minutes.
A superb exchange of passes between Leroy Sane and Thomas Mueller set up Gnabry to score Bayern’s second on 22 minutes.
Just 77 seconds later, Lewandowski headed home Mueller’s cross and the Poland star wrapped up his treble six minutes before half-time with a low shot.
“We paid dearly. They scored with every chance,” said Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat.
Bayern will have Davies and Jerome Boateng both suspended for their April 3 showdown at Leipzig after the latter picked up a first-half yellow card, his fifth this season.
(AFP)
