Berlin, January 24 (BNA): Corentin Tolisso scored his second goal in two matches to help Bayern Munich regain its six-point lead at the top of the German Football League after winning 4-1 at its host Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
The French midfielder, who is usually a substitute for Bayern after years of mediocre performances, scored a header in 25 minutes amid a weak defense from Hertha. Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry were later on the scoring list.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat Hoffenheim 3-2 on Saturday to put pressure on the defending champions, but 13th-placed Hertha were no match for the team targeting their 10th successive title.
“We played well. We were excited for the match because we knew what it meant,” deputy captain Muller was quoted by German news agency DPA.
“The great thing is that you didn’t hear me on the field today, but the others made their voices heard.”
RB Leipzig continued their late bid to qualify for the Champions League with a 2-0 home win over Wolfsburg, who had suffered their seventh defeat in eight matches.
Leipzig, runners-up last season, won its third consecutive league match to advance to sixth place, three points behind the top four, after Willy Urban headed home in the 76th minute and Josko Gvardiol made the match safe.
RB Leipzig had their worst start to the Bundesliga season under Jesse Marsh, but new coach Domenico Tedesco appears to be making a huge difference.
The same cannot be said of 15th-placed Wolfsburg, as the decision to replace Mark van Bommel with Florian Kohfeldt in October did not work out. The wolves were now only three points above the automatic landing zone.
“Yes,” said Wolfsburg sporting director Marcel Schaefer when asked if Kohfeldt would stay despite 11 matches without a win.
In Berlin, Bayern was not in danger of not grabbing the three points.
Tolisso was offside with an early attempt but quickly added to his goal in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Cologne.
The 27-year-old, who struggled to impress in the Bayern shirt after joining from Lyon in 2017, once again capitalized on Leon Goretzka’s header off Kingsley Coman’s cross.
Robert Lewandowski, who was once again named World Player of the Year by FIFA on Monday, recovered the ball to hold Koeman’s cross and had his usual chances.
Muller later converted Joshua Kimmich’s free kick with his stud just before the break and Sane and Gnabry scored in the second half before Jürgen Eckelenkamp scored.
Hertha, whose fans protested against recent performances in a closed training session on Saturday, failed to win their fourth game in a row including a midweek German Cup loss to rivals Union Berlin.
There are no matches in the Bundesliga next weekend due to international matches outside Europe with the Bundesliga resuming the weekend starting February 4, with Bayern Munich hosting RB Leipzig on Saturday.
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