Philippe Coutinho hits hat-trick as Bayern Munich rout Werder Bremen

BERLIN: Philippe Coutinho scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich signalled their return to form with a 6-1 thrashing of Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The Barcelona loanee was everywhere for Munich at the Allianz Arena, chalking up two assists in addition to his three goals as Bayern pulled to within four points of leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach.

After Bremen’s Milot Rashica opened the scoring in the 24th minute for the visitors, it appeared it could be another long afternoon for the champions, who had lost their previous two games in the Bundesliga.

Two goals in three minutes at the end of the first half however turned the game on its head, with Coutinho and Robert Lewandowski both scoring to fire Bayern into a 2-1 lead.

Bayern ran riot after the break, adding four more goals - including two more for Coutinho, one more for Lewandowski and a goal for Thomas Mueller. Coutinho’s second, a brilliant chip over keeper Jiri Pavlenka, came right out of the Brazilian trickster’s top drawer.