Bayern keeps cruising with 4-1 away victory
Patrick Vignal, Reuters, Berlin, Germany
Runaway Bundesliga leader Bayern Munich stayed comfortably on course for another league crown with an impressive 4-1 victory at modest VfL Bochum on Saturday.
Bayern built its victory before the break with headed goals from Peru striker Claudio Pizarro and Brazilian forward Elber and stayed on top after the interval with Croatia midfielder Niko Kovac and France defender Willy Sagnol doubling its advantage.
The Munich club, which has not lost in Bochum for 18 years, did not seem to suffer too much from the absence of injured playmaker Michael Ballack, outplaying its host to close in on an 18th German title.
Bochum, which dropped two spots down to 12th in the 18-strong table, reduced the arrears in stoppage time through striker Thomas Christiansen.
"Our goal was to keep them under pressure and we did that well," said Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld, who hinted his men could have won by a higher margin.
"Once we were 3-0 up the game was decided and that allowed us to slow down a little and spare some energy," he added.
Bayern, reduced to chasing domestic silverware since bowing out of Europe, remains 13 points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Defending champion Dortmund beat Hanover 96 2-0 courtesy of a first-half goal from Germany midfielder Torsten Frings and one from substitute Leandro after the interval.
The title race looks almost decided but the battle against relegation remains exciting.
Four-time German champion Kaiserslautern suggested it could survive it with a brave 3-1 win over bottom club Energie Cottbus.
Kaiserslautern, which has now gone seven matches without defeat, leaves the relegation zone by moving two spots up to 14th.
Bayer Leverkusen, which has collapsed after narrowly missing out on three titles last season, faces a struggle after a 1-1 draw with VfL Wolfsburg that left them in 15th place.
In London, England, Manchester United and Newcastle took advantage of a surprise defeat for Arsenal to slash the champions' lead at the top of the premier league on Saturday.
Arsenal stayed on 63 points after losing 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers, allowing second-placed Manchester United to cut its advantage to two points thanks to a 1-0 win at Aston Villa.
With eight games to go Newcastle is only five points behind Arsenal following its 2-0 victory at Charlton Athletic.
In Milan, Italy, AC Milan's Italian title ambition suffered another setback on Saturday as it was held to a 0-0 draw at lowly Reggina.
Reggina had goalkeeper Emanuele Belardi sent off 10 minutes from the end for handling the ball outside the penalty area but Serie A's only southern side held on for a point which moves them outside of the relegation zone.
The result was Milan's third consecutive draw in Serie A and as Juventus beat Modena 3-0 later on Saturday, Milan now trails Juventus by eight points.
In Madrid, Spain, Real Madrid needed a last-minute goal from center-back Ivan Helguera to snatch a 1-0 win away to Villarreal on Saturday and maintain its one-point lead at the top of the league table.
Villarreal had the better chances in an untidy game but Real kept pressing forward and was rewarded at the last gasp as Helguera stabbed in a right-wing cross from Oscar Minambres.
Victory briefly gave Real a four-point lead at the top but Real Sociedad and Deportivo Coruna both responded to the challenge to leave the situation unchanged at the top.
Real Sociedad came from behind to win 2-1 at Racing Santander with goals from Nihat Kahveci and Valery Karpin, while Deportivo had a more straightforward 2-0 success at home to Rayo Vallecano, Roy Makaay and Noureddine Naybet getting the goals.
After 26 games, Real Madrid lead the standings with 54 points, followed by Real Sociedad on 53 and Deportivo Coruna on 51.