Record-chasing Robert Lewandowski scored a first-half hat trick on Saturday as 10-man Bayern Munich kept its four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win over Stuttgart.
Bayern only started playing well after Canadian youngster Alphonso Davies was sent off for a bad tackle on Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo in the 12th minute, and the defending champions’ response kept second-place Leipzig at bay before the teams meet on April 4.
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Record-chasing Robert Lewandowski scored a first-half hat trick on Saturday as 10-man Bayern Munich kept its four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with a 4-0 win over Stuttgart.
Davies was initially shown a yellow card for landing with his studs on Endo’s ankle, but a VAR check upgraded it to a red.
Stuttgart’s Saša Kalajdžić, who had scored in each of his last seven appearances, missed some good chances in the second half for the visitors.
Last-place Schalke was hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach later Saturday.
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias SchraderPool via AP)
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias BalkPool via AP)
Dortmund's Erling Haaland, center, scores his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Cologne and Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion stadium in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Thilo SchmuelgenPool via AP)
Dortmund's Erling Haaland reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Cologne and Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion stadium in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Thilo SchmuelgenPool via AP)
Bielefeld's defender Joakim Nilsson, left, and Union's striker Max Kruse during their German Bundesliga soccer match at Sch'co Arena in Bielefeld, Germany, Sunday March 7, 2021. (Friso Gentschdpa via AP)
Lewandowski’s 33rd, 34th and 35th goals of the season leave him needing just five more to match Bayern and West Germany great Gerd Müller’s Bundesliga record of 40 goals from the 1971-72 season. Eight rounds remain. Lewandowski's goals on Saturday did move him past Klaus Fischer to second in the all-time top Bundesliga scorers, behind Muller.
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his sides fourth goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias BalkPool via AP)
Davies was initially shown a yellow card for landing with his studs on Endo’s ankle, but a VAR check upgraded it to a red.
The sending off only seemed to rouse his teammates. Serge Gnabry crossed for Lewandowski to open his account in the 18th minute, four minutes before Thomas Müller and Leroy Sané played their way through the Stuttgart defense for Gnabry to get Bayern’s second goal.
Müller set up Lewandowski’s second a minute later, and the Poland star completed his hat trick in the 39th after being set up by Sané.
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski, left, celebrates with Bayern's Serge Gnabry after scoring his sides first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias SchraderPool via AP)
Stuttgart’s Saša Kalajdžić, who had scored in each of his last seven appearances, missed some good chances in the second half for the visitors.
Erling Haaland scored his second goal late to salvage a 2-2 draw for Borussia Dortmund at Cologne, but the visitors dropped four points behind fourth-place Eintracht Frankfurt, which emerged from a bruising game with a 5-2 win over Union Berlin.
American forward Josh Sargent scored an own-goal in Werder Bremen’s 2-1 loss at home to third-place Wolfsburg.
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski, left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias BalkPool via AP)
Last-place Schalke was hosting Borussia Mönchengladbach later Saturday.
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Bayern's Robert Lewandowski, left, celebrates with Bayern's Serge Gnabry after scoring his sides first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias SchraderPool via AP)
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias SchraderPool via AP)
Bayern's Robert Lewandowski celebrates with teammates after scoring his sides third goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart in Munich, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Matthias BalkPool via AP)
Dortmund's Erling Haaland, center, scores his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Cologne and Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion stadium in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Thilo SchmuelgenPool via AP)
Dortmund's Erling Haaland reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Cologne and Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion stadium in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (Thilo SchmuelgenPool via AP)
Bielefeld's defender Joakim Nilsson, left, and Union's striker Max Kruse during their German Bundesliga soccer match at Sch'co Arena in Bielefeld, Germany, Sunday March 7, 2021. (Friso Gentschdpa via AP)