BERLIN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- Runners-up Bayern Munich have closed the gap to leaders Borussia Dortmund after easing 5-1 past third placed Borussia Monchengladbach in the 24th round of Bundesliga on Saturday.
The German record champions caught a bright start on the road as Robert Lewandowski forced Monchengladbach's goalkeeper Yann Sommer into action with only 27 seconds played.
One minute later, the dominant visitors opened the scoring as James Rodriguez corner kick into the box found Javi Martinez, who headed home from close range only two minutes into the game.
Bayern gained momentum and doubled the lead nine minutes later through Thomas Mueller, who poked home Serge Ganbry's square pass with a follow-up shot.
Niko Kovac's men continued on the front foot and should have tripled the lead but Sommer denied Lewandowski for the second time in the first half.
Just before the break, the "Foals" reduced the arrears out of the blue when Lars Stindl finished off Thorgan Hazard's build up work from inside the box in the 37th minute.
The "Bavarians" restored their two-goal lead two minutes into the second half as Lewandowski hammered home Thiago's assist from the edge of the box into the roof of the net.
Bayern retracted with the lead behind but Monchengladbach lacked in penetration to threat the visitor's defence.
However, Bayern were not done with the scoring and added another two goals in the closing period as Serge Gnabry tapped home Lewandowski's rebound before the Poland international wrapped up his brace following a foul play penalty into the closing period.
With the victory, Bayern Munich close the gap to front runners Borussia Dortmund, who remain atop the standings due to their better goal difference, meanwhile Borussia Monchengladbach slipped from the third to the fourth place in the table.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: Stuttgart encounter Hannover for the bottom clash and Wolfsburg host Werder Bremen.
