Wolfsburg strikers Edin Dzeko and Grafite both struck twice on Saturday to inflict a humiliating 5-1 defeat on defending champions Bayern Munich to put their side top of the Bundesliga.
Between them Brazilian Grafite and Bosnian Dzeko have now scored 35 goals in 41 games this season as Wolfsburg defended their unbeaten home record and went top after Hertha Berlin lost at home to Dortmund.
For Wolfsburg’s former-Bayern coach Felix Magath, it was a sweet revenge against the club which sacked him in February 2007 as his side went top of the table for the first time this season while Bayern drop to fourth.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“That was an unusual game for us, because it is not every day you get such a result against Bayern Munich,” said Magath who has previously insisted his side are not good enough to win the Bundesliga.
“In the first half, Bayern were better, but we got a lot stronger after the break and played some heady football,” he said. “But our goal remains to finish the season in the top five.”
Every single Bayern player refused to be interviewed live on television after the game and coach Jurgen Klinsmann admitted the result was devastating, especially ahead of Wednesday’s daunting Champions League trip to Barcelona.
“Nothing about the game was pleasing,” said the glum former-Germany boss. “To fly back to Munich after such a result is not pleasant. We put in a good first-half, but deserve all the criticism we will get for the second half.”
“This defeat hurts — especially before our Champions League quarter-final at Barcelona on Wednesday. Wolfsburg now stand where we want to be,” Klinsmann said.
With the scores level at 1-1 after an hour, Dzeko struck twice in two minutes — showing top-class finishing for his second goal. It started when Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio rolled a pass to play-maker Zvjezdan Misimovic which the Bosnia midfielder flicked on to compatriot Dzeko who placed his shot with pin-point accuracy.
Not to be outdone, Grafite underlined his place as the league’s top scorer with 20 goals so far this season as he struck twice in three minutes to seal Bayern’s humiliation.
For his second on 77 minutes, he beat three defenders and goalkeeper Michael Rensing before back-heeling into an empty net to leave Bayern red-faced.
Hertha are now third after they lost 3-1 to Dortmund at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. After Swiss striker Alexander Frei put Dortmund ahead on 25 minutes, Berlin equalized early in the second half when Brazilian Raffael dribbled his way through the defense and curled his shot home for a superb individual effort.
But Dortmund reclaimed the lead when ex-Germany midfielder Sebastian Kehl headed home on 63 minutes before striker Nelson Valdez hit a late third.
Hamburg are second in the table only on goal difference after their 1-0 win over Hoffenheim, who drop to sixth. With Hoffenheim fading from the title race, Hamburg claimed the winner when midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa tapped the ball into an empty net on 28 minutes.
Stuttgart are up to fifth in the table after their 2-1 win at Bochum and Energie Cottbus remain in the bottom three after their 2-1 defeat at mid-table Eintracht Frankfurt.
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