Lewandowski to the rescue again as Bayern beat Mainz

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Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski came to the rescue once again when he scored the first two goals in their 3-0 victory over Mainz 05 on Saturday to stretch their lead at the top to five points with their seventh win in seven league games.

The champions were struggling against their disciplined opponents until the Poland captain rose high to head in for the lead in the 51st minute, becoming the fastest foreign player to reach the 100 Bundesliga goal mark by achieving the feat in his 168th match.

Lewandowski, who found the net five times against VfL Wolfsburg in the midweek game, scored again in the 63rd minute. He rounded keeper Loris Karius for his 10th goal in seven matches, a mark only achieved in the past by Gerd Mueller in the 1968/69 season and the 1977/78 season.

Winger Kingsley Coman added another five minutes later as Mainz buckled and Bayern stretched their stellar start to the season.

The Bavarians, who host Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League next week, are top of the table on a maximum 21 points with Borussia Dortmund, in action against Darmstadt 98 on Sunday, on 16 in second place.

VfL Wolfsburg, who travel to Manchester United on Wednesday, failed to rebound from their heavy loss to Bayern, drawing 1-1 in the Lower Saxony derby against struggling Hanover 96 to remain in fourth place on 12 points.

Fellow Champions League club Borussia Moenchengladbach made it two wins in two matches under interim coach Andre Schubert by edging past VfB Stuttgart 3-1, completing the victory with a stoppage-time goal from Raffael, as they prepare to host Manchester City in the Champions League.

Bayer Leverkusen completed a second straight victory when they eased past Werder Bremen 3-0, inflicting a third consecutive loss on the northerners. Leverkusen, who travel to Barcelona in the Champions League next week, joined Wolfsburg on 12 points.

Hoffenheim chalked up their first victory of the season by beating Augsburg 3-1 with two goals from Germany international Kevin Volland to move up to 15th with five points.