Arjen Robben (L) of Muenchen scores his team's third goal during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Hamburger SV at Allianz Arena on March 12, 2011 in Munich, Germany. [Photo: CFP/Getty Images/Alex Grimm/Bongarts]
German record champion Bayern Munich staged a faultless performance against Hamburg owing to a hat-rick by midfielder Arjen Robben while division leader Dortmund suffered their third seasonal defeat on Saturday.
Hamburg and Bayern staged an evenly balanced start but as the match progressed Bayern took over with offensively minded soccer. Five minutes before break, midfielder Arjen Robben opened the scoring when he netted a clearance attempt into the roof of the net to stun the "Rothosen" .
After the interval, the Bavarians started where they left off when Arjen Robbens dead ball cross accidentally ended up behind Hamburg's goal line to make it 2-0 on the scoreboards.
Robben had not enough when he slotted a one-two with midfielder mate Franck Ribery with a turn shot from close distance at the 55th minute. Nine minutes later midfielder Franck Ribery utilized a through ball to over lob Hamburg goalkeeper at the 64th minute to mark the 4th goal for his side.
Bayern retracted with the lead behind whilst Hamburg was unable to put up some resistance. However Bayern youngster Thomas Mueller went one better at the 79th minute when he finished a turnover to see Hamburg defender Heiko Westermann who sealed the heavy 6-0 defeat of his team with an own goal at the 85th minute.
The victory moved Bayern to 4th position with 45 points which is a disappointment for the German record champion as they still have a two point gap to their minimum objective, which is the direct Champions League qualification at 3rd position. Hamburg slipped from 7th to 8th position with 37 points.
Hoffenheim flabbergasted division leader Dortmund with a neat 1-0 defeat as Hoffenheim striker Vedad Ibisevic marked the only of the goal at the 63rd minute to wrap the third seasonal defeat for Dortmund.
Dortmund sits atop the standings along 61 points and a 12-point gap to chasers while Hoffenheim remains in 9th position with 36 points.
In an unspectacular first half between struggling Schalke and Frankfurt, goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann ensured the first highlight when he overlooked Schalke striker Raul who tried to steal the ball. Fehrmann had no choice but to foul Raul to deny the score.
However, referee Markus Schmidt pointed on the spot to award Schalke a penalty. Schalke midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado stepped up to convert the penalty confident into top left.
The match offered another curiosity when Frankfurt defender Georgios Tzavellas netted a supposed pass from 73 meters because Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer misestimated a pass at the 70th minute.
At the 84th minute Schalke, striker substitute Angelos Charisteas netted the winner against his former team with his first ball contact, after he was fielded one minute earlier to seal the 2-1 victory for Schalke. Schalke remains in 10th position with 33 points whereas Frankfurt slipped to 13th position with 28 points.
Wolfsburg took the lead against Nuremberg at the 22nd minute through striker Mario Mandzukic who headed home a cross but Nuremberg remained unfazed and scored seconds before break, through defender Philipp Wollscheid who nodded home a free kick cross.
Both sides seemed happy with the draw until Nuremberg's defender Per Nilsson marked the winner for his side seconds before final whistle. The defeated hived Wolfsburg in a relegation spot with 16th position and 26 points whilst Nuremberg can dream of an international competition due to 6th position and 42 points.
Struggling Bremen shared points with bottom team Monchengladbach after a 1-1 draw. Striker Sandro Wagnger brought Bremen upfront while Monchengladbach defender Dante stunned Bremen with the late equalizer at the second minute of the injury time. Bremen climbed to 12th position with 29 points whereas Monchengladbach sits on last position with 28 points.
Kaiserslautern shocked Freiburg with a later winner to win 2-1, thanks to striker Erwin Hoffer goal during injury time. Kaiserslautern jumped to 13th position with 28 points while Freiburg slipped to 8th position along 37 points.
