体坛英语新闻：Bayern win, Wolfsburg drop points in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Robert Lewandowski's brace moved Bayern Munich 2-0 past uninspired Hoffenheim while Wolfsburg were held to a 1-1 draw by courageous Cologne to complete the 19th round in the German Bundesliga on Sunday.

Front-runners Bayern Munich continue their relentless run as the German giants earned their sixth consecutive victory in the Bundesliga to remain atop the standings. Meanwhile, Hoffenheim's relegation worries increased after suffering the 9th loss of the season.

The hosts controlled the proceedings immediately with the opening whistle whereas Hoffenheim focussed on a well-positioned defence. It was thus just a matter of time before the dominant "Bavarians" would open the scoring. Especially after Thomas Mueller's and Arjen Robben's efforts approached Hoffenheim's goal area dangerously in the opening period.

As a result, Bayern turned their dominance into a tangible reward as Lewandowski made use of Douglas Costa's square pass to tap home from close range at the 32nd minute. Hoffenheim remained harmless although new arrival Andrej Kramaric tested Bayern custodian Manuel Neuer before and after the break.

After the restart Josep Guardiola's men continued their one-way soccer while Hoffenheim's goalkeeper Oliver Baumann protected his side from getting whitewashed. However, Baumann was helpless again when Lewandowski sealed the deal and his brace at the 65th minute. Philipp Lahm passed into the path of Lewandowski, who lobbed the ball over onrushing Baumann, extending his goal tally to 19 goals.

Bayern kept it bowling but they were unable to triple the lead although Arturo Vidal rattled the right post with a long-range effort at the 71st minute. It was nonetheless a powerful demonstration by the German record champions, who got 29 shots on target while Hoffenheim were only able to get five attempts goalwards.

With the result, the "FCB" restored their eight-point advantage to runner up Dortmund whilst Hoffenheim stay in the drop zone with a seven-point gap to safety.

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg dropped points against Cologne following a 1-1 draw. The "Wolves" broke the deadlock through Julian Draxler, who slotted home a cross by Vieirinha in the 67th minute before Cologne's Anthony Modeste had all time and space to benefit on Leonardo Bittencourt's through ball, to level the scores eight minutes later.

Both teams remain on their position of the standings. Wolfsburg stay on the 7th place and Cologne on the 9th place.