Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg to go 11 points clear

Bayern Munich put the disappointment of their midweek capitulation against Juventus behind them with a 2-0 win over Wolfsburg to move 11 points clear at the Bundesliga summit.

Pep Guardiola’s side surrendered a two-goal lead in Turin to draw 2-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, but second-half strikes from Kingsley Coman and Robert Lewandowski kept them well on course on the domestic front.

Though far from their fluent best at the Volkswagen Arena, Bayern made it 20 victories from 23 top-flight games this term against a Wolfsburg side they thrashed 5-1 in September, when Lewandowski scored all five of the hosts’ goals in nine second-half minutes.

Coman’s close-range volley finally broke the deadlock after 66 minutes, while Lewandowski’s 33rd goal of the campaign in all competitions settled matters 16 minutes from time, leaving Wolfsburg with just one win in their last 10 league games.

Bayern started well and it required a superb tackle from Ricardo Rodriguez to thwart Thomas Muller as he looked to pull the trigger eight yards out.

Xabi Alonso, one of two changes made by Guardiola from midweek, drilled narrowly wide in the 13th minute as the champions continued to press.

The visitors, having dominated from the off, almost handed Wolfsburg the lead when Joshua Kimmich – who shouldered the blame for Bayern’s collapse against Juve – underhit a backpass to Manuel Neuer, with the goalkeeper rushing out to deal with the danger.

Neuer, making his 150th Bundesliga appearance for the club, was called into action again in the 18th minute, getting down low to keep out Max Kruse’s header from Julian Draxler’s set-piece delivery.

Still it was the league leaders who looked the more likely, Muller testing Koen Casteels with a volley and the Belgian claiming a low cross as Coman – in for Arturo Vidal – was lurking.

The hosts could have snatched the advantage just before the interval, but Marcel Schafer’s first-time half-volley flew wide of the far post.

A questionable offside call saw Lewandowski’s tap-in chalked off early in the second half, with Guardiola calling on Franck Ribery from the bench to replace Arjen Robben soon after.

But Bayern made the breakthrough midway through the half when Lewandowski’s shot looped into the air off a defender and Coman kept his cool to turn home the dropping ball with a side-foot volley.

While his claim to an assist for the opener may have been dubious, there was no doubt about the Polish striker’s goal as he collected Ribery’s chested pass and steered the ball into the bottom-right corner with the outside of his boot in the 74th minute.

That effectively ended Wolfsburg’s hopes of taking anything from a game in which, for long spells, they had proven a match for their lofty visitors, who may have a close eye on second-placed Borussia Dortmund’s fixture against Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Key Opta stats:

- This season, Robert Lewandowski has scored 19 of his 23 Bundesliga goals in the second half, one more than Wolfsburg (18).
- Since being part of the Bundesliga (1965) Bayern have won all nine competitive matches on their date of foundation (February 27).
- For the first time since February 4 2011 (for Schalke at Borussia Dortmund - 0-0) Manuel Neuer made eight saves in a Bundesliga match.
- For the third time this season, Franck Ribery was subbed on – in all three, Ribery has had a hand in exactly one goal (one goal, two assists).

- Bayern have won all seven Bundesliga matches this season following a Champions League match.