Soccer-Goal addicts Bayern cruise past Stuttgart 4-0

BERLIN, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Champions Bayern Munich needed only one half to demolish VfB Stuttgart 4-0 on Saturday as they increased their lead at the top of the Bundesliga with another goal-rich performance to eight points and kept course for a record fourth consecutive title. Bayern, who drew 0-0 last week at Eintracht Frankfurt after 10 successive wins, hit top form once more and Arjen Robben and Douglas Costa put them 2-0 ahead after only 17 minutes. Thomas Mueller and Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski added two more before the break to take their tally to 11 and 14 goals respectively as the hosts picked up where they had left off in midweek when they crushed Arsenal 5-1 in the Champions League. Bayern stepped off the gas after the break but have now scored four or more goals in their last six home games in all competitions to move up to 34 points, eight ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, in action against Schalke 04 on Sunday. Brazilian Costa was far too fast down the wings for the Stuttgart defenders and the visitors could not contain Bayern's lethal attacking trio of Mueller, Lewandowski and Robben as Bayern had a league record 23 shots on goal in the first half alone. There was more good news with defender Holger Badstuber, plagued by injuries in his career, recovering from the most recent to make his comeback for the first time since April. VfL Wolfsburg lost further ground in their pursuit of Bayern, losing 2-0 at Mainz 05 to drop 13 points behind the leaders in third place. The Wolves were down to 10 men after 13 minutes when Julian Draxler was dismissed for a flying studs-up challenge. Borussia Moenchengladbach's six-game winning run in the Bundesliga under coach Andre Schubert ended when they drew 0-0 against promoted Ingolstadt. The Foals, who had captain Granit Xhaka sent off in the 86th minute, are sixth on 19 points. Fellow Champions League club Bayer Leverkusen slumped to a 2-1 home loss to Cologne and had defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos sent off with Slovenia international Dominic Maroh scoring both goals for the visitors. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)