BERLIN, Feb. 17-- Runaway leaders Bayern Munich continue their winning run to stay atop the standings after beating Wolfsburg 2-1 whereas struggling Hamburg lost 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen in the 23rd round of the German Bundesliga on Saturday. The German record champions craved out a 2-1 win over the "Wolves", who gave away a one-goal lead to suffer their third straight defeat. Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes made eight changes to his starting eleven, and his men were caught flatfooted in the eighth minute as Wolfsburg grabbed a bright start through Daniel Didavi, who headed home Yunus Malli's corner. The Bundesliga front-runners controlled the ball but were unable to produce goal-scoring opportunities against Wolfsburg's well-positioned defence. It took 16 minutes before Bayern defender Niklas Suele tested Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels with a header on target. After the restart, Bayern came out strong and they should have levelled the scores but Arjen Robben failed to beat Casteels with a foul play penalty in the 55th minute. However, Wolfsburg custodian was hapless moments later as Robben's pinpoint cross found Sandro Wagner, whose header from inside the box restored parity in the 64th minute. Wolfsburg defended deep and tried to secure a draw on home soil but Bayern had the last laugh as Gian-Luca Itter fouled Robben inside the penalty area, allowing Robert Lewandowski to seal the victory from the spot in the dying minutes of the game. |