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| Saturday, October 5, 2002 22:25 EST |
Bayern rebounds from two losses
[Reuters]
BERLIN -- Leader Bayern Munich averted a looming crisis with a convincing 4-1 victory over VfL Bochum in the German first division on Saturday.
Two headed goals each from Claudio Pizzaro and Elber helped the Munich club bounce back after losing its last two games.
Brazilian striker Elber put the home side in the lead at 27 minutes and Peruvian forward Pizarro doubled the advantage in the 39th minute before striking again in the 66th minute.
Midfielder Sebastian Schindzielorz pulled one back for the visitors from close range in the 77th minute, but Elber was on target again just before the end.
Bayern, which had lost 2-1 at Bayer Leverkusen last weekend before falling to AC Milan by the same score in the Champions League on Tuesday, is three points clear of Borussia Dortmund.
"It was important for us to win to have more harmony within the team before entering the break," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. "We played with plenty of discipline and could have won by a higher margin."
Defending champion Dortmund climbed one spot into second place with a 3-0 victory at Hanover 96, courtesy of a first-half penalty from Germany midfielder Torsten Frings and second-half efforts from Czech striker Jan Koller and Brazilian Marcio Amoroso.
Schalke moved up to third, four points off the pace, after a 3-0 victory over Hamburg SV. Striker Victor Agali, Ebbe Sand and Gerald Asamoah all scored in the first half.
Also four points behind the leader are fourth-place Werder Bremen, which could close the gap on Bayern to just one point if it beats Hansa Rostock in its northern German derby Sunday.
Last season's runner-up Bayer Leverkusen remains fifth from bottom after losing 2-0 at VfL Wolfsburg -- its fourth defeat from eight league games.
"We had no energy and gave Wolsfburg two goals," Leverkusen coach Klaus Toppmoelller said after another dismal showing. "We could have played for two hours without scoring a goal."
Four-time German champion Kaiserslautern recorded its first win of the season with a 4-0 demolition of fellow struggler Energie Cottbus.
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