By CIARAN FAHEY
Associated Press
Associated Press Sports
updated 5:36 p.m. ET Nov. 24, 2012
BERLIN (AP) -Mario Gomez marked his return from injury by scoring seconds into his Bundesliga season debut to wrap up a 5-0 win for Bayern Munich over Hannover on Saturday.
Gomez left a Hannover defender sprawling and beat Hannover goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler from a tight angle in the 67th minute, 27 seconds after coming on for only his second appearance since ankle surgery in August.
"It's a great feeling. It was a long time without football," Gomez said. "For me personally it was a beautiful moment."
Bayern tops the standings nine points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, which came from behind to win 2-1 at Mainz for the defending champion's third win in a row.
Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt had been joint second, but lost ground on Bayern after drawing 1-1.
Werder Bremen hung on for a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg, where all the attention was on Klaus Allofs, the former Bremen team manager of 13 years who left to join Wolfsburg 10 days ago.
"I was completely focused on the game, but I know that many people around here were thinking of different things," Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.
Promoted Greuther Fuerth drew 0-0 with Nuremberg as Germany's oldest derby was played in the Bundesliga for the first time. Both sides had a player sent off.
Nuremberg coach Dieter Hecking best summed up the action: "Emotional, hectic, little football, at times much too much provocation from both sides, not a good game, a real struggle, red cards deserved, point won."
No other Bundesliga side ever claimed as many points, 34, as Bayern has after 13 games, while the Bavarians' goal difference of plus 33 is also a record.
Hannover, which had played in the Europa League on Thursday, had won only once on its previous 23 visits to Munich.
"Hannover weren't bad today, but the manner in which we created and scored the goals was outstanding," Gomez said.
Record signing Javi Martinez opened the scoring with his first Bayern goal in the fourth, an overhead kick after Bastian Schweinsteiger had helped on a corner.
Toni Kroos added another 20 minutes later, when he met Philipp Lahm's cross on the volley to send it inside the left post.
Franck Ribery joined in with his fourth league goal in the 37th, before Brazilian defender Dante claimed his first Bayern goal in the 63rd, a header from a free kick.
Gomez then scored on his first appearance in the Bundesliga since May 5.
"They took us apart at times. Today in phases there was a difference in class. Congratulations to Bayern," said Hannover coach Mirko Slomka, who has been touted as a replacement for the 67-year-old Heynckes once he retires.
Schalke opened the scoring in Gelsenkirchen in the 11th, when Lewis Holtby capitalized on Stefan Aigner's mistake to send Klaas-Jan Huntelaar through. The Dutchman controlled the ball with his right foot before dispatching it past Kevin Trapp with his left for his first league goal since Sept. 28.
Aigner atoned two minutes later when he scored with a header from Bastian Oczipka's inch-perfect cross.
Frankfurt had Karim Matmour sent off for a second yellow late in the game, when the home side almost claimed a late winner in a frenetic finale.
In Mainz, Marco Caligiuri scored with a stunning left-foot shot on the half-volley to the top right corner in the fourth.
Robert Lewandowski equalized seven minutes later when he got the slightest of touches to Marco Reus' cross.
Mario Goetze sprung the offside trap for Lewandowski to score again with a deft chip over Christian Wetklo two minutes before the break.
"The head wanted to play football but the spirit wasn't there in the beginning," said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp. "It was a psychological game. We passed the test."
Klopp now has injury concerns over Ilkay Guendogan. The Germany international hobbled off in the 34th after a challenge on his left ankle from Nikolce Noveski.
Wolfsburg twice hit the post and was denied a penalty before Eljero Elia crossed for the unmarked Marco Arnautovic to score for Bremen in the 35th.
Bremen defender Lukas Schmitz was sent off with a second yellow in the 62nd, and Bad Dost equalized two minutes later after quick interplay between Diego and Vierinha.
"The sending off influenced the game without, no doubt," said Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf. "For me it was clearly the wrong decision."
Security was tight in Fuerth for the 255th Franconian derby, a bitter affair going back 108 years.
Nuremberg midfielder Markus Feulner was sent off in the 35th, and Sercan Sararer earned his second yellow card in the 63rd, but neither side could score.
Fuerth is still waiting for its first win at home in the top flight.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44039190/ns/sports-soccer/
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