Berlin, Nov 29 (IANS): Bayern Munich cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win over a 10-man Freiburg while Leverkusen outclassed Bremen 4-1 owing to the brace by Gonzalo Castro to close the 14th round of Bundesliga.
League leaders Bayern Munich extended their lead Wednesday to leave the rivals 10 points behind, reports Xinhua.
The Bavarians had a bright start as they were able to open the scoring with 12 minutes played.
Freiburg's Oliver Sorg touched the ball with his hand inside the box following a tackle. Thomas Mueller stepped up and converted the awarded penalty into the top left.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts as Fallou Diagne was sent off with a red card in the 18th minute. The visitors controlled the proceedings on the pitch as they seemed content with the neat lead.
Nonetheless, 10-man Freiburg staged a dedicated performance and they nearly got rewarded in the 63rd minute when Max Kruse used a build up play to force a parry by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Instead, clinical Bayern smoothed the way for the win in the 79th minute when Anatoliy Tymoshtchuck capitalised on a through ball by Lahm to round Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann for the 2-0 victory.
"Its very difficult to play against Freiburg but we have done well," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said.
Leverkusen's midfielder Gonzalo Castro caused Bremen's 4-1 loss to ensure second position of the standings.
After kick-off, both sides exchanged offensive actions with promising opportunities.
It were the visitors that broke the deadlock with 31 minutes played as Gonzalo Castro exploited a rebound from very close range.
Nonetheless, Bremen's Aaron Hunt and Nils Petersen failed to grasp their chances before the break. In stead, Leverkusen doubled the lead in the 52nd minute when Castro shrugged off four defenders to beat Bremen goalkeeper Sebastian Mielitz.
Only two minutes later Bremen reduced the lead to 2-1 as Petersen headed home an Aaron Hunt cross.
Nevertheless, Leverkusen remained unimpressed as Simon Rolfes and Jens Hegler increased the lead to 4-1.
"That was a powerful performance by my team, in all aspects," Leverkusen coach Sascha Lewandowski said.
Elsewhere, Stuttgart overcame Ausgburg 2-1, Monchengladbach edged Wofslburg 2-0 whereas struggling Hoffenheim lost 4-2 to Nuremberg.