Munich , December 20 : Bayern Munich extended their lead atop the standings thanks to Thomas Mueller’s goal in a 1-0 win against Hannover while Cologne came from behind to shock runners-up Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at the 17th round of the Bundesliga.
Josep Guardiola’s men recorded the 15th victory in their 17th Bundesliga game as Mueller converted a handball penalty to edge Hannover 1-0 on Saturday, reports Xinhua.
The Bundesliga leaders took the reins from the kick-off hence Thiago Alcantara had the first chance to open the scoring with just five minutes into the game. Yet, the Spaniard failed to overcome Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler from very close range.
Hannover created their first chance three minutes later but Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer tipped Leon Andreasen’s header over the bar to deny the opener.
However, Bayern remained in control of the match.
Dortmund suffered a setback in the pursuit of Bayern Munich as Thomas Tuchel’s men gave away their lead to lose 1-2 to resilient Cologne within seven minutes of the closing period.
Dortmund controlled the proceedings, and waited until the 18th minute before Sokratis headed home a corner kick by Henrikh Mkhitaryan to make it 1-0. It was only Dortmund in the first half but the Cologne turned the tides in the second half.
Cologne pressed frenetically for the equaliser and capitalised on a misplaced pass by Dortmund custodian Roman Buerki. Things went from bad to worse for Dortmund as Cologne’s substitute Anthony Modeste secured the 2-1 victory seven minutes later.
Last-placed Stuttgart eased their relegation worries after bouncing back from a goal deficit to wrap up a 3-1 victory over fourth placed VFL Wolfsburg.
Elsewhere, Bayer Leverkusen reaped their second straight victory with a 1-0 win over newly promoted Ingolstadt. Mexican international Javier Hernandez scored the only goal of the match in the 73rd minute.
Augsburg secured their third consecutive win as they overcame FC Hamburg 1-0 thanks to Jan Moravek’s header in the 76th minute whereas Werder Bremen were beaten 2-1 by7 Eintracht Frankfurt.