Berlin, Oct 23 (IANS) Bayern ended their two-game winless run with a dominating 2-0 win over Monchengladbach, and Berlin edged runners-up Cologne courtesy Niklas Stark's 2-1 winner in the eighth round of the Bundesliga here.
Bayern Munich established a three-point lead atop the standings after moving 2-0 past hapless Monchengladbach on Saturday, owing to the first-half goals from Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costas, reports Xinhua news agency.
From the kick-off, Carlo Ancelotti's men assumed complete control of the game whereas Monchengladbach failed to gain a foothold into the match.
It took the hosts only 13 minutes to break the deadlock as Arturo Vidal nodded home Rafinha's cross to the far post.
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Bayern gained momentum and doubled their lead as David Alaba's cross into the box found Dougla Costa, who had all time and space to slot home with a low shot in the 31st minute.
Bayern's victory was never in doubt although Arjen Robben and Robert Lewandowski squandered promising opportunities to triple the lead in the second half.
Monchengladbach lacked in penetration and came only close once when Andre Hahn rattled the outside of the post with his volley in the 70th minute.
With the result, Bayern remain the Bundesliga front-runners meanwhile Monchengladabch suffered the third loss of the season.
In the other match, Cologne's unbeaten streak came to an end as goals from Vedad Ibisevic and Niklas Stark secured Hertha Berlin a 2-1 and the second place in the standings.
The hosts took the reins from the start as Ibisevic tested Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn with just nine minutes into the game.
The striker was again in the thick of things four minutes later after breaking the deadlock from inside the box following the build-up play from Mitchell Weisser.
Berlin remained in control of the proceedings throughout the first half but Genki Haraguchi and Salomon Kalou were unable to extend the lead before the break despite promising opportunities.
After the restart, Cologne increased their efforts and restored parity out of the blue in the 66th minutes through Anthony Modeste, who marked his eighth goal of the season after tapping home Leonardo Bittencourt's cross.
However, Hertha continued offensively minded and secured the 2-1 lead as Niklas Stark headed home an assist from Julian Schieber in the 74th minute.
Cologne pressed frenetically for the equalizer but the "Billy Goats" did only rattle the woodwork twice in the closing period.
With the fifth win of the season, Hertha Berlin climbed to the second spot while Cologne dropped from the second to the fourth place after suffering the first loss of the season.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim captured the third place in the table after cruising to a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. Kerem Demirbay, Sandro Wagner and Steven Zuber provided the goals for the fourth win of the season.
Borussia Dortmund bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to snatch a 3-3 draw in the dying minutes of the game at Ingolstadt, who continue winless in eight games.
Darmstadt inflicted ten-men Wolfsburg the fourth defeat of the season, as goals from Aenis Ben-Hatira, Laszlo Kleinheisler and Sandro Sirigu were enough to down the "Wolves" 3-1.
Freiburg reaped a 2-1 victory over Augsburg thanks to the second half goals from Maximilian Philipp and Nils Petersen.
--IANS
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