Berlin, March 22 (IANS) Bayern Munich delivered a commanding 4-0 home victory over Union Berlin to maintain its nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.

Coach Vincent Kompany rotated his side with several absentees, with Luis Diaz and Nicolas Jackson suspended and Jonathan Tah, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala also unavailable.

Bayern dominated possession from the outset but initially struggled to break down a compact Union defense. Early chances went begging as Lennart Karl was denied by goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow and later hit the post, while Harry Kane and Leon Goretzka also failed to convert from promising openings.

Momentum shifted just before the interval when Michael Olise collected a pass from Goretzka, cut inside and curled into the far corner. Serge Gnabry added a second moments later after Ronnow misjudged a Joshua Kimmich cross, sending Bayern into the break 2-0 ahead.

Any hopes of a Union response were quickly dashed after the restart. Konrad Laimer found Kane, who finished from around 15 meters to extend the lead. Bayern continued to press, and Gnabry struck again in the 67th minute following an Olise effort, effectively sealing the victory.

Union rarely threatened in attack, while Bayern continued to create chances. Olise hit the woodwork and missed from close range before 16-year-old Erblin Osmani came on to make his Bundesliga debut at 16 years and 306 days.

Bayern’s leads the standings with its 22nd victory, while Union drops to 10th place.

“We had no chance today. Bayern’s superiority was clear from the beginning, and they forced us into mistakes. It felt like we barely had any touches of the ball,” said Union coach Steffen Baumgart.

Elsewhere, second-placed Borussia Dortmund recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Hamburger SV 3-2. Bayer Leverkusen squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw with bottom side Heidenheim.

Cologne and Borussia Monchengladbach shared six goals in a 3-3 draw in the 100th Rhineland derby, while Werder Bremen’s 1-0 victory deepened Wolfsburg’s relegation concerns.

–IANS

bc/