BERLIN, April 17-- Thomas Mueller's hat rick helped Bayern Munich to cruise 6-2 past Bayer Leverkusen into the German Cup final following the first semi final encounter on Tuesday. The "Bavarians" maintain their chances for another treble winning season under Jupp Heynckes as his team staged a dominant performance against Bayer Leverkusen to eye for the 19th German Cup title. Bayern secured the best possible start on the road as Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring after deflecting Javi Martinez's shot on target with just three minutes played. The visitors established an early two-goal lead as Lewandowski had all time and space to volley home Franck Ribery' s pinpoint cross to the far post with nine minutes into the game. Leverkusen responded well to Bayern's second goal as Lars Bender headed home a blocked shot from inside the box to reduce the arrears in the 16th minute. The hosts increased the pressure but failed to make the most of their chances, especially early in the second half when Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich was on guard to parry promising efforts by Kevin Volland and Karim Bellarabi. Just when the hosts where about to take the reins, Bayern restored their two-goal lead out of the blue as Mueller tapped home Thiago Alcantara's through ball in the 52nd minute. The German giants continued powerfully and extended their lead through Thiago, who beat Leverkusen's custodian Bernd Leno with a well-placed shot into the bottom at the hour mark. |