Mario Gomez scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich demolished Hoffenheim 7-1 yesterday to deliver a statement of intent in the Bundesliga.

With leaders Borussia Dortmund being held to a goalless draw by Augsburg, the gap between the front runners is now down to five points.

Gomez opened the scoring for Bayern in the fifth minute, added his second in the 35th and completed his hat trick in the 48th to bring his season total to a league-leading 21 goals.

Arjen Robben scored twice, including a penalty, with Toni Kroos and Franck Ribery – who set up three goals – also scoring.

Cologne beat Hertha Berlin 1-0 in a game where three players were sent off, Wolfsburg overcame Bayer Leverkusen 3-2, Mainz beat Nuremberg 2-1 and there was a scoreless draw between third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach and relegation-threatened Freiburg.

It was a miserable afternoon for Hoffenheim coach Markus Babbel on his return to the club where he made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1991.

Gomez ended his three-game scoring drought when the rebound from Tom Starke’s save from Thomas Mueller fell kindly for the 26-year-old to shoot to the roof of the net.

Robben sent Starke the wrong way from the penalty spot seven minutes later, after Marvin Compper’s blatant trip on Philipp Lahm, and Kroos effectively ended the game in the 18th minute, when Ribery set him up for a low shot inside the left post.

Ribery played Robben through to score his second in the 29th and then crossed for Gomez to score with a low header, before the Germany striker completed his hat-trick with another header, from a corner after the interval.

Ribery claimed one himself in the 58th, when Robben returned the Frenchman’s earlier favour for Ribery to power beyond the unfortunate Starke and finish from a narrow angle.

Bayern had further reason to cheer when Bastian Schweinsteiger returned from a month out with an ankle injury, Jupp Heynckes bringing the Germany midfielder on in the 62nd.

There was still time for another goal as Ryan Babel scored a late consolation goal for the visitors after former Hoffenheim player Gustavo slipped to allow Babel a free path towards goal and slip the ball past Neuer.

Bayern now turns its attention to Tuesday’s visit of FC Basel in the Champions League, where it needs to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

Cologne celebrated an important victory thanks to Christian Clemens’s 36th-minute goal.

The home side had Mato Jajalo sent off for catching Berlin defender Levan Kobiashvili with a raised foot in the 66th, before both sides were further depleted.

Kobiashvili earned a yellow card for a foul in the 75th, and another the next minute for his furious reaction to words from Sascha Riether. Lukas Podolski became involved, when he threatened to headbutt the Georgian, for which the German international earned a direct red card.

Mainz made a blistering start at home to Nuremberg, with Nicolai Mueller scoring inside the first minute after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s initial effort hit the post.

Mohamed Zidan scored for the sixth consecutive game since his transfer from Dortmund. The Mainz striker’s free kick from the left eluded everyone and sneaked inside the far post.

No other player has scored for six games in a row this season, and no player had ever done it in the Bundesliga after moving to a new club.

Daniel Didavi scored a 64th-minute consolation, 20 minutes before Mainz striker Adam Szalai earned a second yellow card for diving.