Berlin, Sep 25 (IANS) Bayern Munich extended their winning run after beating Hamburg thanks to the late winner from Joshua Kimmich, while a hat-trick from Javier Hernandez ensured Leverkusen' s 3-2 win over Mainz in the fifth round of Bundesliga.
Front-runners and title holders Bayern Munich secured their fifth straight win in as many games on Saturday, as Kimmich scored the decider in the dying minutes of the game to inflict Hamburg the fourth loss of the season,reports Xinhua.
Hamburg staged a well-positioned defence giving the German a hard time to implement their style of play.
Top striker Robert Lewandowski worked out the only Bayern chance in the first half after heading over the target with 18 minutes into the game.
Trending
After the break, Carlo Ancelotti' s men piled on the pressure but neither Lewandowski nor Javi Martinez were able to overcome Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler with 60 minutes played.
Adler was on guard but very busy in the second half, as he had to defuse the efforts from David Alaba and Thomas Mueller.
However, the German giants pressed the hosts into defence and turned their dominance finally into a tangible reward after Franck Ribery' s square pass found Kimmich, who tapped home the winner from very close range, at the far post in the 88th minute.
With the result, Bayern maintain their perfect start and tighten their top spot whereas Hamburg remain winless after suffering their fourth straight loss.
Leverkusen overpowered Mainz 3-2 as Javier Hernandez, known as Chichcarito, provided a hat trick to turn the tides, and to snatch three points on the road.
Mainz grabbed the lead after an evenly balanced opening period, as Levin Oeztunali' s square pass allowed Yunus Malli to open the scoring with 31 minutes into the game.
It was a short-lived joy for the hosts as Leverkusen responded well one minute later when Chicharito slotted home the equalizer from inside the box. Mainz remained unimpressed by Leverkusen' s equalizer and secured the lead for a second time as Stefan Bell poked home Malli' s corner in the 36th minute.
However, Leverkusen' s Chicharito wasn' t done with the scoring as he donated two second-half goals to wrap up the 3-2 comeback win in the closing period.
In other fixtures, Borussia Monchengladbach craved out a 2-0 victory over Ingolstadt as Lars Stindl and Oscar Wendt were on target.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Hertha Berlin shared the spoils following a see-sew 3-3 draw. Augsburg beat Darmstadt 1-0 while struggling Werder Bremen bounced back with two late goals to shock Wolfsburg 2-1.
--IANS
gau/vt
