BERLIN, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Bayern Munich cruised past Union Berlin 5-1 thanks to Thomas Muller's brace and cemented its second spot of Bundesliga on Saturday.
The Bavarians assumed control from the start and opened the scoring at the half-hour mark when Leon Goretzka benefitted from Mathys Tel's good build-up work before drilling the ball into the roof of the net.
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer denied Lucas Tousart's dangerous hammer in the 33rd minute, and had to be on guard again ten minutes later after defusing Robin Gosens' volley from a tight angle.
The visitor extended the lead just before the break as Harry Kane curled a free kick over the wall to make it 2-0 on the scoreboard.
After the restart, Bayern came out with its guns blazing and tripled its lead through veteran Muller, who tapped home Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's pinpoint cross eight minutes into the second half.
Union couldn't put up resistance while the German record champions gained momentum as Tel latched onto Goretzka's square pass to make it four at the hour mark.
Ruthless Bayern wasn't done with the scoring and put the result beyond doubt with the fifth goal as Muller nodded home Goretzka's cross into the box.
Union showed signs of life in the closing stages as Yorbe Vertessen reduced the arrears with his consolation goal in the injury time.
With the result, runner-up Bayern extended its advantage to third-placed Stuttgart to three points, while 14th-placed Union suffered a heavy setback in the relegation battle.
"We staged a good performance. We played aggressively but Union remained dangerous on counters. Overall, we were focused and disciplined. After the second goal there was no holding back," said Muller.
In other matches, Leipzig snatched a 2-1 victory over Heidenheim thanks to Lois Openda's late winner.
Hoffenheim overpowered Borussia Monchengladbach in a seven-goal thriller after Anton Stach provided the 4-3 decider in the dying seconds of the match.
Bottom side Darmstadt increased Cologne's relegation worries after clinching a 2-0 victory on the road, and Wolfsburg secured a hard-earned 1-0 win over Bochum.
On Friday, Eintracht Frankfurt reaped vital points for a berth in Europe after beating Augsburg 3-1. ■
