Bayern establishes nine-point lead in Bundesliga

Berlin: Four second-half goals helped Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich move past stubborn Freiburg 4-1 in the 28th round.

The win moved Bayern nine points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who lost 4-1 to Leipzig on Saturday evening.

The German record champions dominated possession from the kick-off while Freiburg focused on their defence.

Bayern were able to combine their way through the midfield but once the visitors reached the final third, they couldn't threaten Freiburg's goalkeeper Mark Flekken.

Flekken remained in the thick of things though as the goalie underestimated a Joshua Kimmich free kick into the box, allowing injury returnee Leon Goretzka to break the deadlock in the 58th minute. Bayern's lead didn't last long as Freiburg's striker Nils Petersen restored parity with a left footed hammer in the 63rd minute, 17 seconds after his substitution. It was Petersen's 100th goal in Freiburg.

Julian Nagelsmann's men remained unimpressed and took the lead 10 minutes later as substitute Serge Gnabry tapped home Lucas Hernandez's cross, one minute after his fielding.

Freiburg's resistance was broken as Bayern made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute when Dayot Upamecano's long ball found Kingsley Coman, who drilled the ball past Flekken from 18 meters. Bayern didn't complete its scoring and made it four after substitute Marcel Sabitzer capitalized on Gnabry's cutback pass in the injury time.

Elsewhere, third-placed Bayer Leverkusen downed relegation threatened Hertha Berlin 2-1 thanks to first-half goals from Lucas Alario and Karim Bellarabi. Newly promoted Bochum shocked Hoffenheim 2-1 after Takuma Asano provided one goal in each half. Eintracht Frankfurt played out a stalemate with last placed Greuther Furth, while wasteful Stuttgart was held to a 1-1 draw by Arminia Bielefeld.

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