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Eight points clear Bayern extend Bundesliga lead with Stuttgart winPosted: Saturday December 07, 2002 12:31 PMUpdated: Saturday December 07, 2002 1:26 PM FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Roque Santa Cruz scored two goals and Oliver Kahn had his fourth straight shutout to help Bayern Munich rout Stuttgart 3-0 on Saturday and open an eight-point lead in the Bundesliga. In Dortmund, Marcio Amoroso came off the bench to score two goals as Borussia won 3-1 against Kaiserslautern and slipped past Bremen into second place in goal difference. Bremen played to a 1-1 draw at Schalke. Bayern now is sure of spending the winter break with a massive lead in first place. With one round left before the break, Bayern has 38 points, Dortmund and Bremen 30 and Schalke 27. In other matches, it was Hertha Berlin 2, Wolfsburg 2; Nuremberg 2, Energie Cottbus 2, 1860 Munich 0, Bayer Leverkusen 3, Arminia Bielefeld 3, Hansa Rostock 0. On Sunday, Hamburger SV plays Bochum and Borussia Moenchengladbach meets Hannover 96. Bayern showed once again why it likes traveling to Stuttgart, where it has a 20-9 record, the best at any German stadium apart from its own Olympic arena. The Bavarians scored two goals inside a four-minute span in the first half to seize control of the match. Michael Ballack sent a long, diagonal pass across the field to Giovane Elber, the Brazilian raced with the ball, then stopped and gave a perfect cross to Alexander Zickler, who nodded the ball home for the lead after 29 minutes. In the 33rd, Bixente Lizarazu found Santa Cruz unmarked at the far post with another long cross and the Paraguayan striker drove the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal. Santa Cruz notched his second after 68 minutes, putting the outcome beyond doubt with a left-footed drive from just inside the area. H he has five for the season. Star goalkeeper Kahn now has not conceded a goal in four straight matches and Bayern looks likely to raise its own Bundesliga record by capturing its 18th national championship. Stuttgart's young and talented team with 20-year-old striker Kevin Kuranyi lost its second straight. Kahn made one outstanding save to deny Kuranyi, who has nine goals in his rookie season. Dortmund labored for much of the match against struggling and financially strapped Kaiserslautern, until Amoroso came on after 63 minutes. The striker got his first in the 73rd after a clever pass from midfielder Tomas Rosicky to Evanilson, who crossed to his fellow Brazilian at the far post and Amoroso kicked it in. Five minutes later, a throw in was flicked over by Jan Koller and Amoroso volleyed the ball home. Earlier, Rosicky's deflected shot put Dortmund ahead after 24 minutes, but the Czech midfielder also hit the crossbar from the penalty spot in first half injury time. Dortmund's lead had lasted only two minutes, with Jose Manuel Dominguez netting for Kaiserslautern, which remained next to last. It took Bremen less than four minutes to stun Schalke with a goal from Markus Daun, but Ebbe Sand tied the score four minutes later and the two teams stayed deadlocked in an entertaining match. Substitute striker Angelos Charisteas could have kept Bremen in sole possession of second place but the unchallenged Greek put the ball over the crossbar from point-blank range with five minutes left in the match. In Berlin, Hertha squandered a 2-0 lead as Kim Madsen notched the equalizer for Wolfsburg in injury time. Josip Simunic scored after 25 minutes and Bart Goor added the second after 47 as Berlin easily controlled the match. But Wolfsburg began to rally and Robson Ponte, who had earlier wasted a good chance, pulled one back for the visitors in the 63rd. With time running out, Madsen got his head to a cross to beat Berlin goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly. Kiraly raced off his line and tried to punch the ball away, but missed it in his late attempt and instead connected with Madsen's head. Madsen was shaken but managed to walk off the field as the final whistle came. Leverkusen signaled that it may be coming out of its slump by beating 1860 Munich on the road. Striker Oliver Neuville set up two goals and got the third himself to secure the victory. Neuville was a starter for Germany at the World Cup, but like his club, he has been going through a slump and had spent a lot of time recently on the bench. But he gave the decisive pass to Daniel Bierofka and the former Munich talent put his new club ahead after nine minutes. Dimitar Berbatov used Neuville's clever pass to make it 2-0 six minutes into the second half and the striker completed the rout himself in the 89th. Match Summaries:HERTHA BERLIN 2 VFL WOLFSBURG 2Hertha Berlin wasted a 2-0 lead before its home fans in a relatively poor game played in freezing conditions. Croatia defender Josip Simunic headed home from a corner for Hertha's first goal in the 24th minute. Belgium midfielder Bart Goor increased their lead two minutes into the second half. The visitors pulled one back with a header from striker Robson Ponte in the 63rd minute before defender Kim Madsen put them level from close range in the dying moments. NUREMBERG 2 ENERGIE COTTBUS 2Energie Cottbus fought bravely with 10 men, snatching a draw with a goal from striker Lars Jungnickel four minutes from time, but it remains bottom of the table. Poland midfielder Radoslaw Kaluzny headed Cottbus ahead in the 15th minute. Nuremberg fought back with a goal from the edge of the box by Czech defender Marek Nikl three minutes from the break before Yugoslavia defender Dusa Petkovic put them in the lead from the penalty spot in the 52nd minute. Cottbus played the last 30 minutes without midfielder Timo Rost, who was sent off for a second booking. TSV 1860 MUNICH 0 BAYER LEVERKUSEN 3Bayer Leverkusen suggested it could lift itself up the table with a spirited performance against the "other" Munich club, which had not lost at home since August. Former TSV 1860 striker Daniel Bierfoka showed Leverkusen the way by scoring from close range on nine minutes. Substitute forward Dimitar Berbatov added another from close range in the 51st minute. Germany forward Oliver Neuville wrapped it up with a few seconds remaining. ARMINIA BIELEFELD 3 HANSA ROSTOCK 0Artur Wichniarek, who scored twice in Bielefeld's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen in their last home game, underlined his brilliant form with another double. The Poland striker gave Arminia the lead from 10 meters just before the break and then collected a fine through ball from fellow striker Mamadou Diabang to double the lead on 55 minutes. Rostock lost Sweden defender Andreas Jakobsson for a second booking four minutes later. Defender Bastian Reinhardt inflicted further punishment on the northerners 10 minutes from time. SCHALKE 04 1 WERDER BREMEN 1Werder Bremen, which had won its last three matches, had to be content with a draw that saw it drop one spot to third. The visitors had a great start, going ahead with an effort from 16 meters out by striker Markus Daun on three minutes. But Schalke, whose coach Frank Neubarth played for Werder for nearly two decades, levelled five minutes later with a strike from close range by captain Ebbe Sand. VFB STUTTGART 0 BAYERN MUNICH 3Three days after knocking holder Schalke 04 out of the German Cup, Bayern marched towards an 18th league crown, moving eight points clear at the top with a comfortable away win. Bayern showed little threat until Alexander Zickler gave them the lead with a diving header from a cross by fellow striker Elber in the 29th minute. Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz doubled the advantage from inside the area four minutes later before sealing the victory with a superb volley from the edge of the box on 68 minutes. BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3 KAISERSLAUTERN 1Substitute striker Marcio Amoroso was the match winner with two second-half goals for the German champions, who climb one place to second. Dortmund went ahead when Kaiserslautern defender Tomasz Klose deflected a shot from playmaker Tomas Rosicky into his own net in the 22nd minute. Kaiserslautern responded two minutes later with a goal from close range by Portugal midfielder Jose Manuel Dominguez. Rosicky rattled the bar with a penalty just before halftime. Amoroso then came on to win the game for Dortmund and leaves its crisis-hit visitors second from bottom of the table. Playing on Sunday:
Both the Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. |
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