Bayern Munich, Dortmund reap first wins

Berlin, Feb 8: Bayern Munich earned their first win of 2015 by beating Stuttgart 2-0 while Dortmund relieved their relegation worries with a 3-0 victory over Freiburg at the 20th round of Bundesliga.

Front-runners Bayern Munich celebrated their first win in the third match of 2015 Saturday as they overcame relegation threatened Stuttgart, thanks to the goals by Arjen Robben and David Alaba, reports Xinhua.

The 'Bavarians' controlled the ball but were unable to pose any threat whereas Stuttgart lurked for counter-attacks. Yet, both sides were unable to create goal-scoring opportunities.

Stuttgart worked out their first noteworthy chance in the 28th minute when Gotoku Sakai rattled the outside of the right post from 15 metres. However, the hosts broke the deadlock against the run of game when Robben hammered home his 12th goal of the season (41st minute).

The visitors from Stuttgart started aggressively in the second half but the hosts again destroyed all hopes of a comeback as Alaba doubled the lead with a free-kick goal from 25 metres with 50 minutes into the match. The second goal took the wind out of Stuttgart's sails.

With the result, Bayern maintain their eight-point advantage atop the standings while Stuttgart slumped to the last place in the table.

Relegation threatened Dortmund defeated Freiburg 3-0 by courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's brace to climb off the last position.

From kick-off, Dortmund took over to press Freiburg into defence. The 'BVB' capitalised by Freiburg's Mike Frantz, whose misplaced pass allowed Aubameyang to pass into path of Maro Reus, who slotted home into the open goal, only nine minutes after kick-off.

Freiburg tried to respond in the second half but clinical Dortmund focused on fast breaks to double the lead through Aubameyang, who made use of Ilkay Guendogan's through-ball to beat Freiburg's goalkeeper Roman Buerki one-on-one in the 56th minute.

Dortmund were not done with scoring as Aubameyang tripled the lead (72nd) to seal his brace and the deal against the hosts. With the victory, Juergen Klopp's men jumped to 16th position, a relegation play-off spot, whereas Freiburg slipped to 17th.

Wolfsburg remain Bayern chasers as they downed Hoffenheim 3-0, thanks to the brace by Kevin de Bruyne. The 'Wolves' caught a bright start on home soil as Bas Dost opened the scoring with just three minutes played. The Dutchman made use of a pinpoint cross into the box by new arrival Andre Schuerrle.

Schuerrle was again in the thick of things when his 16-metre long-range shot rattled the bar, allowing de Bruyne to head home the rebound from close range for the 2-0 lead in the 28th minute.

Hoffenheim pressed frenetically after the restart but their poor chance conversion, despite many promising opportunities, denied them a goal. Instead, Wolfsburg added another goal to their lead when de Bruyne wrapped up his brace in the closing period.

Runners-up Wolfsburg sit eight points adrift of Bayern Munich while Hoffenheim stay at seventh.

Elsewhere, Berlin stopped their four-game winless streak as they secured a 2-0 triumph against 10-men Mainz. Jens Hegler and Roy Beerens were on target for Hertha Berlin.

Newly promoted Cologne and Paderborn shared the spoils following a goalless draw and Hamburg craved out a 2-1 home victory against Hannover. However, the visitors from Lower Saxony squandered a foul play to wait for their first win of 2015.