BERLIN — Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski grabbed his 15th goal of the season to help nervous Bayern Munich beat bottom club Cologne 1-0 Wednesday and go nine points clear at the top of the table.
On the day when winger Franck Ribery became Bayern’s leading foreign player with his 366th appearance in all competitions, the German champion struggled to hit top form but still did enough to climb to 38 points.
It is nine ahead of Schalke 04, which beat Augsburg 3-2 and stretched its unbeaten run to 10 league games.
In a completely one-sided first half the Bavarians had several good chances for Thomas Mueller and Lewandowski, but struggled with their finishing.
Pole Lewandowski forward finally broke the deadlock on the hour when Mueller headed on a Jerome Boateng chip and he volleyed in from close range.
Schalke squandered a two-goal lead but managed to beat Augsburg courtesy of Daniel Caligiuri’s penalty to go second on 29, a point ahead of RB Leipzig, which dropped to third following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at VfL Wolfsburg.
Bayer Leverkusen made it 11 matches without defeat and climbed to fourth after Lucas Alario scored the winner against lowly Werder Bremen.
PSG cruise into quarters
Paris Saint-Germain brushed off the absence of Neymar to ease into the French League Cup quarterfinals with a 4-2 victory at Strasbourg Wednesday.
The Ligue 1 leader gained a measure of revenge for their shock 2-1 league defeat by Strasbourg less than a fortnight ago as they started their bid for a fifth straight League Cup title.
PSG will take on Amiens in the last eight, after the newly-promoted top-flight club edged out second-tier Tours 2-1.
Elsewhere, a much-changed Lyon was stunned 4-1 at Montpellier despite taking a 10th-minute lead through teenager Myziane Maolida, as Souleymane Camara scored twice for the hosts.
Nice goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale was the hero as Lucien Favre’s men edged past managerless Lille on penalties after Mario Balotelli had rescued the a 1-1 draw for the visitors.
Monaco will be Nice’s last-eight opponents, after the principality outfit saw off Caen Tuesday.
Rennes beat Marseille in a penalty shootout after an entertaining 2-2 draw at Roazhon Park, where Kostas Mitroglou and Valere Germain scored for the visitors, but to no avail.
Milan set up Inter clash
New coach Gennaro Gattuso got back-to-back wins as AC Milan booked a quarterfinal clash with city rival Inter Milan in the Italian Cup after a comfortable 3-0 last 16 win over Verona Wednesday.
Gattuso earned his first win as Milan boss in Serie A action against Bologna last time out and his side put in another solid display against league strugglers Verona.
Goals from Suso, Alessio Romagnoli and Patrick Cutrone set up a December 27 date with Serie A leaders Inter, who needed a 5-4 win on penalties to squeeze past Serie C side Pordenone after their tie on Tuesday ended 0-0 after extra time.
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was jeered by the Milan crowd before the game with insulting banners brandished amid claims he wants the contract extension he signed last summer cancelled on the grounds he was pressured into it, amidst rumors his agent is lining up a big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Earlier, a late Jordan Veretout penalty sent Fiorentina through with a 3-2 win over Sampdoria to set up a quarterfinal with either Lazio or Cittadella on Dece. 26. — Agencies
