Soccer-Bayern go nine points clear with 4-1 win at Freiburg

FREIBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Bayern Munich scored four times in a strong second half to beat hosts and Champions League hopefuls Freiburg 4-1 on Saturday and take a big step towards the league title with six games left.

Leon Goretzka, making his comeback after a four-month injury break, headed the visitors in front in the 58th minute before substitute Nils Petersen struck back five minutes later with his 100th goal for Freiburg 17 seconds after coming on.

Bayern substitute Serge Gnabry responded with a fine first touch and finish in the 73rd to put them back in the lead before Kingsley Coman added another with a low drive in the 82nd.

Marcel Sabitzer rifled in his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern in stoppage time as the champions moved up to 66 points, nine ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who lost 4-1 to RB Leipzig.

Freiburg remain fifth on 45 points after Bayern snapped their six-game unbeaten run.

The game was marked by a brief interruption in the final minutes after confusion between match officials and Bayern coaching staff over substitutions, with Bayern having played a few seconds with 12 men.

The hosts had sat deep in the first half, soaking up pressure but the Bavarians were lacking precision in their final pass.

Bayern should have scored seven minutes after the restart but Thomas Mueller failed to connect in front of goal.

Goretzka, however, did not miss a little later when he headed in a Joshua Kimmich free kick with Freiburg keeper Mark Flekken coming out of his goal too late.

Their lead lasted only five minutes as Petersen, the league's all-time top scorer as a substitute, slotted in the equaliser 17 seconds after coming on.

Bayern turned up the pressure when it mattered to score three more goals through