体坛英语新闻：Bayern overcome Darmstadt, Berlin and Wolfsburg share spoils in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Thomas Mueller's brace helped Bayern to turn the tides against Darmstadt meanwhile Wolfsburg snatched one point at Berlin in the 22nd round of the German Bundesliga on Saturday.

Mueller goals no. 16 and 17 of the season smoothed the way for Bayern Munich's second straight win. It was a stiff piece of work for the German record champions as newly promoted Darmstadt grabbed the lead to flabbergast the hosts, who bounced back with three-second half goals.

Bundesliga front-runners Bayern Munich took the reins from the kick off against deep defending visitors from Darmstadt. However, Pep Guardiola's men were unable to turn their dominance into a tangible reward, as Arturo Vidal, Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben failed to overcome Darmstadt custodian Christian Mathenia from promising positions.

The visitors punished Bayern's wastefulness and shocked the hosts with the opener against the run of the game at the 26th minute after Sandro Wagner nodded in Sandro Sirigu's cross to the near post.

The "Bavarians" continued with their powerful display but had to wait after the restart before Mueller slotted home Rafinha's chipped ball into the area with 49 minutes into the game. Bayern gained momentum and completed the comeback as Mueller sealed his brace with an overhead kick at the 71st minute.

The 2-1 deficit took the wind out of Darmstadt's sails while the Bundesliga leaders weren't done with the scoring. Bundesliga top scorer Lewandowski marked his 22nd goal of the season to round off the 3-1 victory in the 84th minute following an assist by Franck Ribery, who returned from an injury break.

With the result, Bayern Munich extended their advantage atop the standings to 11 points for now whereas newly promoted Darmstadt stay on the 13th place.

Wolfsburg secured one point at Berlin, who still wait for their first victory in 2016.

Berlin was the more active team in the first half but Salomon Kalou and Vladimir Darida lacked in accuracy to slot past Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

As the consequence, Wolfsburg scored the opener out of the blue after the break. Marcel Schaefer lashed in the 1-0 lead by courtesy of Vieirinha's cross in the 53rd minute.

Berlin responded and piled on the pressure to restore parity just eight minutes later. Salomon Kalou capitalized on a rebound and poked home from sharp angle.

Both sides pressed for the winner but Berlin's goalie Rune Jarstein drove Wolfsburg to despair and secured his side the 1-1 draw on home soil.

The draw lifts Hertha Berlin on the 3rd place for the moment whereas Wolfsburg stay on the 8th place.

Elsewhere, relegation threatened Hoffenheim returned to winning ways after beating Mainz 3-2. Hence, Mainz's three-game winning streak came to an end.

Monchengladbach climbed back into the top six as they wrapped up a 1-0 victory over rivals Cologne thanks to the first-half goal by Mahmoud Dahoud in the 84th Rhine derby, and newly promoted Ingolstadt increased Bremen's relegation worries with a 2-0 victory on home soil.

The following fixtures complete the 22nd round in Bundesliga on Sunday. Leverkusen host Dortmund for a top clash, Schalke see Stuttgart and bottom team Hannover clash with Augsburg.