Bayern win Bavarian derby

Bayern Munich continued their march towards the Bundesliga title with a 2-0 victory in a Bavarian derby at Augsburg.

Bayern Munich continued their march towards the Bundesliga title with a 2-0 victory in a Bavarian derby at Augsburg. A Thomas Muller penalty in the 40th minute put them on their way with Mario Gomez wrapping up the win and taking the Bavarians 11 points clear at the top of the table ahead of Bayer Leverkusen's clash with Hannover on Sunday. Bottom-placed Augsburg played with courage, but were still no match for their local rivals. Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl promised an attacking display and his team did not disappoint either, showing little fear of their illustrious neighbours. Inspired by Ja-Cheol Koo, the hosts spent as much time in the opposition half as they did in their own rather than doing what many sides do against Bayern and trying to defend. This allowed Bayern a little more space when they did attack, though, and Muller's shot was blocked by his own team-mate Mario Mandzukic before Philipp Lahm whipped the loose ball wide. Mandzukic missed the first real chance in the 25th minute when Mohamed Amsif made an instinctive save to deny him from close range. The visitors took the lead five minutes before half-time when Gibril Sankoh handled the ball inside the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty. Muller took the responsibility of firing Bayern in front, relieving any anxiety which could have been forming and giving them the half-time lead. Gomez was introduced for Bayern on the hour mark and, just like on his return to the side after injury two weeks ago, he struck instantly. Franck Ribery was the provider for the Germany striker, who did not need two invitations to give Bayern a more comfortable lead. Heynckes started making changes to give some of his players a rest with Augsburg unable to find a route back into the game. The teams will meet again in 10 days' time with a place in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal then up for grabs.