Bayern put six past sorry Wolfsburg

Bayern Munich sensationally scored five times in 17 minutes to brush off VfL Wolfsburg and collect their 16th win in a row – the first Bundesliga team to do so.

The win sees the Bavarians march closer to the league title – but they sweated for the first 60 minutes with Wolfsburg taking the lead.

But after Xherdan Shaqiri’s equaliser, a devastating period of the match turned it into a 6-1 mauling for the Wolves with Thomas Mueller, Mario Mandzukic and Franck Ribery all on the scoresheet.

Wolfsburg competed powerfully from the off-set with Dieter Hecking deploying a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation with one of the two holding players – Maxi Arnold and Slobodan Medojevic – afforded the freedom to press with the attacking quartet.

It was useful – and effective – considering Guardiola’s decision to adopt a 4-4-2 system with only Philipp Lahm and Toni Kroos rotating in a midfield partnership. Bayern were regularly out-numbered by the Wolves.

A thrilling start had little to show for it until the 11th minute mark when Arjen Robben lobbed Diego Benaglio - but the effort was ruled out for offside. The Dutchman’s finish coming way after the whistle had been blown.

But five minutes later, Wolfsburg were in the lead. A corner-kick was cleared, breaking to former Chelsea man Kevin de Bruyne who adjusted his balance quickly, before supplying a beautiful left-foot cross for central defender Naldo to bundle home his second of the season.

However, some knocks and niggles for Wolfsburg players took the steam out of their play as the match moved toward the half way point of the first half – and Bayern duly took advantage.

A set-play from Toni Kroos was headed towards goal by Dante, unleashing a mad, pinball-esque game inside the six-yard box. Swiss attacker Shaqiri saw effort cross the line; but Mueller still drilled the ball past Benaglio.

Shaqiri failed to unequivocally add his name to the scoresheet only one minute later when his shot was saved by his countryman Diego Benaglio.

The home side finally got into the groove again and squandered the best chance of the match on 37 minutes. A swarming, pressing attack dispossessed Kroos in a crucial position; Maximilian Arnold combined with Bas Dost who returned the favour, but the young German midfielder was unable to get his shot on goal.

Hecking’s side continued the high-octane tempo - but 10 minutes after the restart, Guardiola decided to shake things up with Mario Mandzukic and Thiago replacing Shaqiri and Kroos. Both Mandzukic and Thiago changed the balance of the game completely.

The Spanish midfielder produced a fantastic defence-splitting through ball to Mueller who made no mistake, rounding Benaglio and slotting into the empty net on 63 minutes.

Then, three minutes later, Robben picked out with Mandzukic with a low pass and the Croatian thumped past his old team-mate Benaglio for 3-1 – and his 50th Bundesliga goal.

Before the clock had hit 70 minutes, Bayern had found the net for the fourth time. Robben broke the offside trap, holding the ball up until Franck Ribery, joined the scene and fired home.

The scoring was yet to be completed as Robben notched up another assist on 76 minutes with a perfect cross for Mueller who dived into the box and headed into the net.

Mandzukic had already completed a milestone in this match, but added a sixth to the scoreline with Mueller providing a simple pass across the face of goal for him to convert with 11 minutes to go.

A devastating change in momentum after a positive 60 minutes from the home and another sign of Bayern’s dominance – and the quality on-and-off the park – to secure another three points on the road to the Bundesliga title.

The victory maintains Bayern’s unbeaten run in the league which stands at 49 matches.

Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored a hat-trick and had a penalty saved as Schalke 04bounced back from last week's heavy defeats to ease past Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday and tighten their hold on fourth spot.

Schalke, who had lost 6-1 to Real Madrid in the Champions League and 5-1 to Bayern in the league last week, grabbed a two-goal cushion with Huntelaar tapping in from close range in the sixth minute and rifling in from 18 metres in the 28th.

He failed to get a first half hat-trick when he chipped a weak penalty into the hands of keeper Koen Casteels but Chinedu Obasi did it better in the 55th, drilling in after a superb Kevin-Prince Boateng pass in the 55th.

Huntelaar, who had missed much of the season through injury, made amends for his earlier miss in the 79th as Schalke moved five points clear in fourth place, with Wolfsburg in fifth on 39.

Bayer Leverkusen failed to move past Dortmund into second place after drawing 1-1 atHanover 96. Dortmund, who play Freiburg on Sunday, are a point ahead of them on 45.