Unstoppable Lewandowski hits hat-trick as 10-man Bayern crush Stuttgart
Alphonso Davies was shown a straight red card just 12 minutes into Bayern München's Bundesliga game against VfB Stuttgart, but that didn't stop the Bavarians from winning the game 4-0 after a well-taken first-half hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski.
| Robert Lewandowski. | Photo: Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
Davies was initially booked for leaving his studs on Watari Endo, but was shown a red card instead after a VAR review.
Sasa Kalajdzic, who had scored in his past six Bundesliga appearances, came close to breaking the deadlock shortly after, but glanced a header from close range straight into the hands of Manuel Neuer.
Instead, 10-man Bayern went straight the other end and scored through Robert Lewandowski, who slid in ahead of two defenders to put Serge Gnabry's cross past Gregor Kobel.
With 22 minutes on the clock, Gnabry grabbed a goal himself after some fantastic combination play with Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané before Robert Lewandowski made it 3-0 just a minute later, heading home a cross from Müller.
The Polish international wasn't finished yet and completed his hat-trick before half-time, putting the ball past Kobel yet again after Bayern won possession in a dangerous position.
Stuttgart never really managed to threat Bayern after the break, although Manuel Neuer was tested on a few occasions.
At the other end, Lewandowski uncharacteristically missed a huge chance to make it 5-0 before making way for Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting in the 70th minute.
With the win, Bayern restored their four-point lead over RB Leipzig at the top of the table. Stuttgart, meanwhile, sit eighth.
Lewandowski has now scored 35 league goals this season, meaning he just has to hit the net five more times this campaign to equal Gerd Müller's all-time record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season.