BERLIN: Bayern Munich struck twice in the second half to beat rock-bottom Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Sunday and retake the lead in the Bundesliga with four matches remaining.

Goals from Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman helped the Bavarians take advantage of Borussia Dortmund’s draw at VfL Bochum on Friday to leapfrog them into top spot on 62 points. Dortmund are on 61 in second place. Union Berlin are third on 56 points along with fourth-placed Freiburg.

The victory also ended Bayern’s four-game winless run across all competitions, while offering coach Thomas Tuchel some needed respite after his team’s German Cup and Champions League exits in recent weeks.

At the moment I have the feeling that everyone wants and everyone is aware of the fact that we as a team need to step it up a notch,” said Tuchel, who took over in late March from Julian Nagelsmann.

A football team has to project a common energy. I am happy with the way we celebrated, that we did not take everything for granted. That had been missing a bit. Sometimes [players] need a bit of fire, today we needed calm because I had the feeling that everyone was prepared.”

Lowly Hertha defended well for long periods against a Bayern side still struggling to find the fluency they displayed earlier in the season.

Gnabry broke the deadlock, heading in a Joshua Kimmich chip in the 69th minute, his first league goal since early February.

Another superb pin-point assist from Kimmich 10 minutes later found Coman to score Bayern’s second goal.

We] need to keep believing in ourselves,” Coman told DAZN. “We can be champions. We will try everything.”

Hertha, without a league win in Munich since the 1977/78 season, remain in last place on 22 points.

In Sunday’s late game, a double from Jonas Wind sent VfL Wolfsburg past Mainz 05 into seventh with a 3-0 win and lifted their hopes of European qualification.

Mainz came into the game unbeaten in 10 matches and fresh from a 3-1 win over Bayern, but were blown off the park early, Wolfsburg scoring three goals in the first 30 minutes.

Wind scored either side of a Sebastiaan Bornauw header to give the home side a dominant win ahead of next week’s trip to Dortmund.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2023