Story highlights
Bayern Munich moves 18 points clear at top of Bundesliga
Goals from Mario Mandzukic and Arjen Robben seals 2-0 win at Wolfsburg
AC Milan defeats Parma 2-1 thanks to Balotelli strike
Deportivo La Coruna suffers more misery at Sevilla
Bayern Munich fired a red-hot warning towards Champions League rivals Arsenal Friday by storming 18 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Bayern, which faces Arsenal in London in the last-16 Tuesday, claimed a 2-0 win at Vfl Wolfsburg to move ever closer to the title.
Jupp Heynckes’ side has won 18 of its 22 league matches so far this season, conceding just seven goals in that time.
After losing out at its own stadium to Chelsea in last year’s Champions League final, Bayern is hoping to go one better this time around.
‘Pep will make Bayern’s team better’
With former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola taking over in time for the 2013/14 season, the German side are looking in great shape as it showed once more with its latest victory.
Mario Mandzukic and substitute Arjen Robben scored the goals for Bayern and coach Heynckes was delighted with his side’s showing.
“We played against a team who certainly produced their best game of the season. They gave their all,” he told reporters.
“Wolfsburg were aggressive, ran hard and disturbed our game early on. These are the games we must win, but we showed we have a great team.”
The win was Munich’s 10th away victory in 11 league matches this season and its fifth consecutive clean sheet away from home.
If Bayern can maintain its streak, it could be crowned champion by the middle of April and break the club’s own record of 30 matches for the earliest title win, which was set back in the 1972/3 season.
‘Super Mario’ returns to Italy with Milan
Elsewhere, a late strike from Mario Balotelli gave Milan a 2-1 win over Parma ahead of its Champions League tussle with Barcelona.
Milan moved ahead six minutes before the break when Argentine defender Gabriel Paletta put the ball in his own net.
Balotelli added a second with 12 minutes remaining, firing home a free-kick, before Parma pulled a goal back through Nicola Sansone.
Milan’s 13th win of the season moves it up to fourth in the league, leapfrogging rivals Inter, which plays Fiorentina Saturday.
In Spain, Deportivo La Coruna remains rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table following a 3-1 defeat at Sevilla.
Two goals from Gary Medel and an Ivan Rakitic strike was enough for the home side to prevail with Riki scoring a consolation for Deportivo.
Galatasaray agree deal forr Drogba
In Turkey, Didier Drogba came off the bench to score on his Galatasaray debut as his new team defeated Akhisar 2-1.
The former Chelsea star replaced Umut Bulut in the 63rd minute before heading in his team’s opening goal just five minutes later.
Buruk Yilmaz made it 2-0 in the 70th minute with Sertan Vardar cutting the deficit with five minutes remaining.
Galatasaray now have an eight point lead over Besiktas at the top of the Turkish first division.