Berlin, March 21: A red card for Alphonso Davies proved no hindrance to Bayern Munich as the Bundesliga champions thrashed hapless VFB Stuttgart 4-0 with the help of a Robert Lewandowski hat-trick to send an emphatic message to title rivals RB Leipzig.
The defending champions restored their four-point advantage at the top of the table after Leipzig won the weekend opener 1-0 at Arminia Bielefeld on Friday.
The leading pair meet in Leipzig on April 3 after the international break.
Lewandowski will enter that match knowing a goal would make him the first player to score against every Bundesliga opponent in a season.
Lewandowski hit a first half perfect hat-trick of right-foot, head and left-foot finishes to reach 35 for the campaign while Serge Gnabry finished a glorious move for Bayern’s second in the 22nd.
The goal flurry came after Davies was dismissed in just 12 minutes after video review upgraded his yellow card for a challenge on Wataru Endo to red.
Lewandowski found his second goal a minute after Gnabry’s before completing his hattrick in the 39th minute for his 13th Bundesliga treble on a pass from Sane. (IANS)
