For the 16th and penultimate day of the first leg, the "Rekordmeister" has 40 points and cannot be joined before the break by his pursuers Dortmund (31 pts) and Leverkusen (27 pts), who play Wednesday, respectively against Fürth and Hoffenheim.

Decimated, with in particular their four midfielders / runners in the infirmary (Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Corentin Tolisso, Marcel Sabitzer), the reigning champions joined forces to beat the 15th in the standings.

To fill the midfield, coach Julian Nagelsmann even had to align his 18-year-old nugget Jamal Musiala, who suffers from a fractured metacarpal (bone of the hand) and was wearing a splint.

In the first period, the Bavarians created a good dozen favorable situations, but not really clear chances, for lack of edge in the opposing surface.

They also lost in the 26th minute Kingsley Coman: after a muscular defensive intervention, the France international held the back of the thigh and immediately announced that he was going out.

It was finally Serge Gnabry who unlocked the counter shortly before the break with a superb shot curled from the right above the goalkeeper (1-0, 40th).

- Double by Lewandowski -

Stuttgart came back from the locker room, with two shots on Manuel Neuer in the first two minutes, but Gnabry returned the cover in the 53rd minute.

A new ball wrapped around the keeper, but this time on the other side, with the left foot and close to the ground (2-0).

Stuttgart then collapsed, conceding three goals in five minutes.

Robert Lewandowski, more or less transparent for more than an hour, recalled that he was the top scorer in Europe at the moment.

Thrown in depth, he lobbed the goalkeeper with a subtle flick (3-0, 69th) before repeating three minutes later (4-0, 72nd), to bring his total to 18 goals this season in 16 Bundesliga matches. .

Polish Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is congratulated by French defender Benjamin Pavard and midfielder Serge Gnabry after scoring the 4th goal at Stuggart on Matchday 16 of Bunesliga on December 14 2021 Thomas KIENZLE AFP

Gnabry scored his hat-trick in the wake (5-0, 74th).

The match folded, Nagelsmann brought in four young players, including the Paris-trained central defender SG Tanguy Nianzou.

On Wednesday, Dortmund will try not to give up too much ballast at home in the chase race, against the red lantern Fürth (8:30 p.m.).

But Borussia, especially in the absence of an audience, lacks too much consistency to threaten the "Rekordmeister".

Behind, the gaps are widened: the other potential qualified for the Champions League, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim, point - provisionally - to 13 and 14 points of the leader.

For Bayern, the path to a tenth consecutive title passes Friday night through Wolfsburg, the last of the first leg.

The "Wolves", author of a good start to the season, are currently in full decline, with five consecutive defeats, including a painful 3-1 at home against Lille in the Champions League.

© 2021 AFP