Bayern Munich ease past struggling Wolfsburg in Bundesliga

Reigning champions Bayern Munich secured their fifth straight win in the Bundesliga after beating harmless 'Wolves' 4-0 at the curtain raiser of the 17th round here.

The German record champions started perfectly on home soil late on Friday evening as Wolfsburg's goalkeeper Koen Casteels parried Serge Gnabry's 25-metre hammer into the path of Thomas Muller, who made no mistake to tapping home his 134th goal in his 400th Bundesliga appearance from very close in the seventh minute.

Wolfsburg should have restored parity with the next attack, but Bayern's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer denied Wout Weghorst the equalizer following a one-on-one, Xinhua reports. Bayern remained a menace and squandered several chances to double their advantage as Robert Lewandowski pulled a rebound over the goal before Jamal Musiala missed from a promising position.

Wolfsburg created another presentable chance before halftime, but Weghorst couldn't control a dangerous square pass with only Neuer to beat.

After the restart, Bayern remained in control and made it two in the 57th minute when Muller chipped the ball to Dayot Upamecano, who headed home from five meters.

The German giants sealed the deal only two minutes later as Leroy Sane had all time and space to curl the ball from the edge of the box into the far post corner.

Wolfsburg couldn't put up resistance whereas Bayern kept it bowling and rounded off the win with the 4-0 through Robert Lewandowski, whose 43rd goal in 2021 sets a new Bundesliga record.

"I am very satisfied with the performance. The first half was difficult as Wolfsburg defended well and had two good chances. In the second half we gained the upper hand and scored fantastic goals to clinch a deserved win," Bayern's head coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

"I think we played well in the first half, but it's of course impossible to keep Bayern at bay for 90 minutes. You won't get many chances hence you have to make the most of those few opportunities," Wolfsburg's sporting director Marcel Schafer said.