Berlin (AFP) – Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben returned to action on Saturday as Bayern Munich heaped pressure on Bundesliga title rivals Borussia Dortmund with a 3-1 win over Hanover.
The veteran wingers, both of whom are set to leave Bayern at the end of the season, returned from injury as Bayern made heavy weather of a crucial victory over the Bundesliga’s bottom club.
Robben made his first appearance since November while Ribery scored what may be his last ever goal at the Allianz Arena to seal a 3-1 win and put Bayern five points clear of title rivals Borussia Dortmund with a game in hand.
Dortmund face a tough trip to Werder Bremen later on Saturday.
Hanover kept Bayern at bay for nearly half an hour before Lewandowski headed the hosts ahead from close range and Leon Goretzka curled the second in off the post.
The visitors hit back after half-time with a Jonathas penalty, the result of a highly controversial handball decision from VAR against Jerome Boateng.
Ribery secured the win six minutes from time, and the home fans had more reason to cheer a few minutes from time when Robben was brought on moments later.
Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hoffenheim both stumbled in the race for the top four, as they shared the points in a 2-2 draw.
Matthias Ginter cancelled out Pavel Kaderabek’s opener, before Nadiem Amiri restored the lead with a fine volley. Yet Josip Drmic saved Gladbach’s Champions League hopes with a late equaliser.
At the bottom of the table, relegation looms ever larger for Nuremberg, after goals from Felix Klaus and Marcel Tisserand saw them lose 2-0 in Wolfsburg.
They and Hanover were spared relegation for at least another week, however, as Hertha Berlin won 3-1 at home to Stuttgart, who remain in the relegation play-off place.
Vedad Ibisevic ended a 395-minute goal drought for Hertha when he prodded them ahead on 40 minutes. Goals from Ondrej Duda and Salomon Kalou sealed the win for Hertha, despite a late consolation header from Mario Gomez.
