体坛英语新闻：Bayern Munich march on, Leverkusen drop points in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Mar. 08 (Xinhua) -- Bayern continue their relentless run with a goal festival in the closing period at Wolfsburg meanwhile third placed Leverkusen share the spoils with Hannover at the 24th round of Bundesliga on Saturday.

Bayern Munich carry on their title-march in the Bundesliga as they came from behind to crush resilient Wolfsburg 6-1. The "Bavarians" underline their title-defence ambitions after their 16th consecutive win and a 23-point lead atop the standings.

The "Wolves" staged an auspicious start as Naldo headed home the opener at the far post following Kevin de Bruyne's pin point cross at the 17th minute.

The deficit for Bayern seemed to be a wakening call for Pep Guaridiola's men when Xherdan Shaqiri cancelled out the stunning opener by Wolfsburg nine minutes later.

Bayern completed their comeback at the hour mark as Thomas Mueller made use of Thiago Alcantara's through ball beating onrushing custodian Diego Benaglio for the 2-1 lead.

Wolfsburg seemed dazed, as Bayern were able to extend their lead with four goals within 17 minutes. Mario Mandzukic made it 3-1 on the scoreboards with his volley shot from 13 meters into the bottom right at the 66th minute. Frenchmen Franck Ribery added the fourth goal before Mueller and Mandzukic wrapped up their braces to inflict Wolfsburg the ninth loss of the season.

Bayer Leverkusen stopped their losing streak of five matches although they wait for their first win since six games. However, the "Werkself" gave away a neat lead to share the spoils with Hannover following a 1-1 draw.

Hannover nearly grabbed a perfect start but Leverkusen's goalkeeper Bernd Leno denied Szabolcs Huszti's foul play penalty at the 5th minute. Leno already denied five penalties this season.

Leverkusen took the lead at the half-hour mark when Gonzalo Castro's deflected effort overcame Hannover' s goalie Ron Robert Zieler.

Nonetheless Leverkusen were unable to put the result beyond doubt as Hannover responded minutes later through Artjoms Rudnevs, whose hammer beat Leno into the top left corner. Both sides remain on their positions, Leverkusen stay on third place with 44 points while Hannover occupy 11th place with 26 points.

Schalke recover from two heavy defeats as Klaas Jan Huntelaar helped his side with a hat rick to beat Hoffenheim 4-0.

The Dutchman ensured a bright start for the "Royal Blues" when he broke the deadlock with just six minutes into the game. Huntelaar made it two following a successful fast break at the 28th minute, beating Hoffenheim' s goalkeeper Koen Casteels from 16 meters into the bottom right.

Huntelaar took the liberty to squander one penalty when he tried to beat Casteels, who denied the Dutchman with a save four minutes later.

Hoffenheim pressed to reduce the arrear but instead Schalke got their third when Chinedu Obasi exploited a square pass by Kevin Prince Boateng ten minutes into the second half.

The third goal took the wind out of Hoffenheim's sails, as Huntelaar was not done with the scoring when he completed his hat trick and the 4-0 win at the 79th minute.

Elsewhere, Monchengladbach still wait for their first win in 2014 as Lucien Favre's men lost 2-1 to Augsburg that maintain in the hunt of a berth in Europe.

Stuttgart stopped their eight-game losing streak as the "VfB" shared points with bottom side Braunschweig following a two all draw.

Hamburg wasted the chance to grab vital points at the relegation battle as they draw 1-1 with Frankfurt and Bremen jump from 13th to 11th place following their 2-0 victory over Nuremberg on the road.

The following fixtures are scheduled for tomorrow: relegation threatened Freiburg see second placed Dortmund and Mainz host Berlin.