With Bayer Leverkusen hot on their heels, margin for error has quickly eroded for Vincent Kompany’s men, but they showed no signs of the pressure getting to them here.
The Rekordmeister needed less than seven minutes to break the deadlock in spectacular fashion, as Leroy Sane’s half-cleared cross came back to the winger, and he duly lashed into the bottom corner past a helpless Oliver Baumann.
Just five minutes later, Hoffenheim’s rearguard was breached again. A silky give-and-go between Harry Kane and Raphael Guerreiro on the right resulted in the Portuguese wing-back stroking an effort into the far corner to score his first goal since April.
The England captain got in on the act himself before the half-hour, scoring a 27th consecutive penalty for club and country after his initial shot was blocked by Kevin Akpoguma’s arm.
Rumoured Chelsea transfer target Mathys Tel came off the bench for the hosts at half-time, and he needed just three minutes to create Bayern’s fourth goal as his cross to the back post was stroked home by Sane.
Another home substitute added their fifth, with Serge Gnabry pouncing on a last-ditch tackle to steer into an empty net past a defenceless Baumann.
Damage limitation had long since been the order of the day for the Kraichgauer, but Hoffenheim’s lack of threat continued to present them with a problem as Bayern surged forward at will.
Baumann tipped over from Eric Dier’s header, but five was ultimately where Kompany’s men settled as they secured another emphatic victory, their 13th in 17 home league head-to-heads.
Just one of those ended in defeat, with Hoffenheim’s latest disappointment in Bavaria leaving them just a point clear of the relegation zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich)
