Runaway leaders Borussia Dortmund returned to winning Bundesliga ways Saturday with a 3-0 victory at VfL Wolfsburg, and champions Bayern Munich were also successful in a 3-1 win at 10- man Werder Bremen.
Coming off a 1-1 draw against VfB Stuttgart, Dortmund showed no sign of crisis as Lucas Barrios, Nuri Sahin and Mats Hummels were on target at the 2009 champions Wolfsburg.
Dortmund command the standings with 50 points for an 11-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen (39), who defeated Hanover 2-0 on Friday.
Munich rose to third on 36 from their win at struggling Bremen, who are now one place above the drop zone with only two wins in the last 11 games.
Dortmund's result against Stuttgart had briefly given closest challengers Leverkusen and Munich that Juergen Klopp's side might be faltering but the leaders ended the speculation swiftly in Wolfsburg.
Barrios returned into the starting 11 and tapped home less than two minutes into the game to complete a move which also involved Sahin and Mario Goetze.
The three were also responsible for the 2-0 lead five minutes from half-time. The teenager Goetze fed Barrios, whose shot was blocked, but Sahin beat a defender for the ball to score from short range.
Hummels wrapped up matters in the 71st as Dortmund cruised to a 16th victory in 20 games and showed again that they can do well without Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa, who is out for the season with a foot fracture sustained on Tuesday at the Asian Cup.
"That was our 10th away win, which ist truly world class," said Sahin. "We played very well against a strong Wolfsburg side."
Matches between Bremen and Munich were mostly table-toppers in the past, but damage control was the priority this time around in an indifferent season for Munich and a dismal campaign for Bremen.
Initially, Bremen were the more lively of the sides and were rewarded for their endeavours two minutes after the restart, when a Torsten Frings free-kick eventually found its way to unmarked Germany defender Mertesacker, who curled the ball past Thomas Kraft.
"Bremen were the better team for the opening 20 minutes," admitted Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.
However, Robben artistically volleyed the equalizer off Danijel Pranjic's cross from point-blank range in the 65th, and 11 minutes later Mertesacker was the tragic man when Mario Gomez's cross bounced into the net off his shin for Munich's 2-1 lead.
"I think that we were a lot more aggressive after going behind. Maybe that's what we need," said Robben.
Rarely fielded Germany forward Miroslav Klose got the third in the 86th and Bremen's agony was complete when Wiese got his marching orders for a ruthless tackle against Thomas Mueller.
Elsewhere, Felix Magath's Schalke lost their second straight home game, 1-0 against Hoffenheim. SV Hamburg had Gojko Kacar sent off in a 2-0 defeat at Nuremberg and St Pauli got their biggest season win, 3-0 over Cologne.
Kaiserslautern were due to host Mainz later Saturday. The Sunday games are Stuttgart against Freiburg and Frankfurt versus Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Coming off a 1-1 draw against VfB Stuttgart, Dortmund showed no sign of crisis as Lucas Barrios, Nuri Sahin and Mats Hummels were on target at the 2009 champions Wolfsburg.
Dortmund command the standings with 50 points for an 11-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen (39), who defeated Hanover 2-0 on Friday.
Munich rose to third on 36 from their win at struggling Bremen, who are now one place above the drop zone with only two wins in the last 11 games.
Dortmund's result against Stuttgart had briefly given closest challengers Leverkusen and Munich that Juergen Klopp's side might be faltering but the leaders ended the speculation swiftly in Wolfsburg.
Barrios returned into the starting 11 and tapped home less than two minutes into the game to complete a move which also involved Sahin and Mario Goetze.
The three were also responsible for the 2-0 lead five minutes from half-time. The teenager Goetze fed Barrios, whose shot was blocked, but Sahin beat a defender for the ball to score from short range.
Hummels wrapped up matters in the 71st as Dortmund cruised to a 16th victory in 20 games and showed again that they can do well without Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa, who is out for the season with a foot fracture sustained on Tuesday at the Asian Cup.
"That was our 10th away win, which ist truly world class," said Sahin. "We played very well against a strong Wolfsburg side."
Matches between Bremen and Munich were mostly table-toppers in the past, but damage control was the priority this time around in an indifferent season for Munich and a dismal campaign for Bremen.
Initially, Bremen were the more lively of the sides and were rewarded for their endeavours two minutes after the restart, when a Torsten Frings free-kick eventually found its way to unmarked Germany defender Mertesacker, who curled the ball past Thomas Kraft.
"Bremen were the better team for the opening 20 minutes," admitted Bayern coach Louis van Gaal.
However, Robben artistically volleyed the equalizer off Danijel Pranjic's cross from point-blank range in the 65th, and 11 minutes later Mertesacker was the tragic man when Mario Gomez's cross bounced into the net off his shin for Munich's 2-1 lead.
"I think that we were a lot more aggressive after going behind. Maybe that's what we need," said Robben.
Rarely fielded Germany forward Miroslav Klose got the third in the 86th and Bremen's agony was complete when Wiese got his marching orders for a ruthless tackle against Thomas Mueller.
Elsewhere, Felix Magath's Schalke lost their second straight home game, 1-0 against Hoffenheim. SV Hamburg had Gojko Kacar sent off in a 2-0 defeat at Nuremberg and St Pauli got their biggest season win, 3-0 over Cologne.
Kaiserslautern were due to host Mainz later Saturday. The Sunday games are Stuttgart against Freiburg and Frankfurt versus Borussia Moenchengladbach.
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