Bayern Munich took care of business against Arminia Bielefeld to take a giant step towards winning another Bundesliga crown.
The Bundesliga leaders restored their nine-point cushion over Borussia Dortmund at the summit of the standings with a 3-0 victory at the relegation-threatened side’s home ground.
Frank Kramer’s Arminia started brightly but Bayern soon took control of the contest and the hosts had goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to thank for keeping the scoreline level after eight minutes, saving Lewandowski’s header on the goal line.
Bayern took the lead with just 10 minutes on the clock after Alphonso Davies squared a ball for Robert Lewandowski who took a touch before Arminia defender Jacob Barrett Laursen helped the ball over the line to score an own goal.
Having edged in front during a cagey first half, the visitors doubled their advantage with the last kick of the opening period through Serge Gnabry, who chased Kimmich’s pass from the right and hit a brilliant-first time volley to give the Bavarian’s a two-goal cushion.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side added a third with five minutes remaining as Kimmich sprayed the ball left for Lewandowski, and the Polish forward passed to substitute Jamal Musiala to finish a sweeping counter-attack from close range.
The hosts maintained the pressure after falling behind and midfielder Masaya Okugawa had a goal disallowed for offside but they rarely troubled their opponents in the second half.
Goals have been hard to come by for the hosts as they have scored only 23 goals this season which is nine fewer than Lewandowski alone.
Arminia remains in the 17th place, three points adrift of the safety zone, after defeat by Bayern extended their winless run to seven games.
With only four games left, the Bavarians had to rebound after their shock Champions League exit with a solid win and regain their lead over the chasing Dortmund before the two teams clash in next weekend’s crunch Der Klassiker in Munich.
A win next week will seal Munich’s 10th straight Bundesliga title.
