Bayern thrash Hertha, Ramos scores in Messi's return for PSG
Bayern Munich romped to a 4-1 victory at Hertha Berlin on Sunday to restore the Bavarian giants' six-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
Midfielder Corentin Tolisso grabbed his second goal in as many games before Bayern forward Thomas Mueller made it 2-0 by half-time at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
Bayern doubled their tally with two goals in four devastating minutes as Leroy Sane pounced on a mistake by Hertha goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow, then Serge Gnabry fired in Bayern's fourth 11 minutes from time.
Jurgen Ekkelenkamp scored Hertha's late consolation.
"It was fun, we controlled the game for the whole 90 minutes," said Bayern's Joshua Kimmich, who returned to midfield having played the two previous games at right-back.
Kimmich, who set up goals for Mueller and Gnabry, revealed Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski, the league's top-scorer, was annoyed that he failed to add to his tally of 23 goals.
"We teased him about that," Kimmich said.
A third straight home defeat capped a miserable week for Hertha who were knocked out of the German Cup on Wednesday by a 3-2 derby loss to Union Berlin.
After Dortmund had trimmed Bayern's lead in the table with a 3-2 win at Hoffenheim on Saturday, Bayern had few problems restoring their commanding lead in the table.
Tolisso backed up last weekend's goal at Cologne with a superb diving header after a cross from fellow Frenchman Kingsley Coman.
Mueller then tapped in a Joshua Kimmich free kick when he ghosted behind the defence and rolled the ball past frustrated Hertha goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow.
The Berlin shot-stopper had kept his side in the game with 12 saves up until that point, but his luck deserted him when a pass out to Hertha defender Linus Gechter was intercepted by Sane who tucked the ball into an empty net.
Gnabry fired in the fourth.
Hertha restored some pride with a late consolation when replacement Jurgen Ekkelenkamp profited after a mistake by Bayern defender Dayot Upamecano, who had just come on, to score.
Sane was only denied a superb second goal after VAR spotted he controlled the ball with his shoulder before unleashing a long-rang shot.
RAMOS STRIKES
Lionel Messi returned, another marquee signing Sergio Ramos scored as Paris Saint-Germain cruised to a 4-0 victory over Reims on Sunday to restore their Ligue 1 lead to 11 points.
Earlier, Nice briefly cut the gap with a 2-0 win at Metz. But three of the teams just behind them lost.
Messi, returning from Covid, started on the bench while Kylian Mbappe returned to the starting lineup after a groin strain while Ramos made only his second league start of the season.
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas also returned, rushed back into the lineup after a bout of Covid due to an injury to Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Marco Verratti put PSG ahead in the final minute of a sluggish first half, drilling home his first Ligue 1 goal since May 2017.
PSG upped the tempo after the break.
Ramos, who arrived from Real in the summer, scored his first goal for the club. The central defender reacted quickest to a loose ball from a PSG corner. After his first shot was parried by Predrag Rajkovic, the Spaniard reacted fastest again to slam home the rebound.
That goal brought Ramos level with Messi on one league goal this season, it also acted as the cue for Messi to come on.
In the 67th minute, Messi set up Verratti for a shot that deflected off two defenders and into the top corner.
Danilo Pereira added a fourth as PSG matched their biggest league win of the season.
Earlier, Khephren Thuram's goal set up a precious 2-0 away win for Nice as they saw off strugglers Metz to move back up to second place.
Khephren, the 20-year-old son of World Cup winner Lilian, opened the scoring in the 58th minute while a late spot-kick from Amine Gouiri completed the victory with a cheeky Panenka.
The three points lift Nice, owned by British chemicals magnate Jim Ratcliffe, above their bitter south coast rivals Marseille, who are two points behind in third with a game in hand.
Nice are coached by Christophe Galtier who joined the club on a high after leading Lille to the French league title last season.
"We are still too far behind (PSG) to think about top spot. I'm more concerned by what's coming up behind us," Galtier said after the game.
"It's about racking up the points and that can be tough when the opponent is fighting relegation. So this was just perfect."
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