The Pole remained in the thick of things and reaped his brace only three minutes later after Lewandowski finished off Gnabry's good build-up work on the right-wing. Stuttgart tried to respond but Bayern ruthlessly tripled its lead as Gnabry set up for Lewandowski, who chested the ball down before chipping the ball over hapless Muller with 69 minutes gone. It was however the visitors who clinically made it two as Stuttgart couldn't clear the ball from the area, allowing Gnabry to slot home from very close range in the 53rd minute. Stuttgart tried to hold the pace but had to wait until the 25th minute before unmarked Omar Marmoush squandered a presentable chance with all time and space.īayern then turned its dominance into a tangible reward as substitute Leroy Sane assisted Gnabry, who broke the deadlock with a well-placed shot from inside the box into the top right corner in the 40th minute.Īfter the restart, Stuttgart came out with its guns blazing and forced Bayern custodian Manuel Neuer into action twice as Wataru Endo and Philipp Forster unleashed promising attempts on target. The Bavarians took the reins on the road from the starting whistle as Gnabry posed a lot of danger after coming close in the 10th minute before Stuttgart goalkeeper Florian Muller denied the German international ten minutes later. 14 (Xinhua) - Serge Gnabry's hat trick and a brace from Robert Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich to defend its top spot after cruising 5-0 past Stuttgart at the 16th round in Bundesliga on Tuesday. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)īERLIN, Dec. Leroy Sane (L) of Bayern Munich vies with Endo Wataru of Stuttgart during a German Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich in Stuttgart, Germany, on Dec.