Malaga leapfrogged Levante into La Liga's fourth Champions League qualification spot when the big-spender edged past its Valencia-based rival 1-0 Saturday. Qatari-owned Malaga dominated the first half at its Rosaleda stadium but squandered a slew of chances before Joaquin's inswinging free kick flew into the net off the head of Levante forward Abdelkader Ghezzal six minutes into the second half. With 12 matches remaining Malaga has 40 points, two ahead of Levante and three behind third-placed Valencia. Bottom club Real Zaragoza lost 3-0 at Real Sociedad which climbed to 11th on 33 points. Gomez hits three In Berlin, a hat trick by Mario Gomez and two goals from Arjen Robben inspired Bayern Munich to a 7-1 rout of Hoffenheim Saturday while leader Borussia Dortmund was held 0-0 at lowly Augsburg. Bayern's emphatic victory boosted its confidence ahead of the Champions League round of 16 second leg against Basel in midweek and gave it 51 points from 25 games. Dortmund's draw ended an eight-match winning streak but also equalled a club record of 19 consecutive games without defeat. Gomez gave Bayern a fifth-minute lead when he pounced on a weak clearance by keeper Tom Starke, opening the floodgates as the hosts looked to bounce back from last week's defeat by Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern scored four more times in the first half through Gomez, a goal and a penalty from Dutchman Robben and Toni Kroos as Hoffenheim kept losing possession deep in their own territory. Bundesliga top scorer Gomez notched his third goal of the game with a header at the far post in the 48th minute to take his league tally to 21 goals this season. Franck Ribery made it 7-0 following a quick break before former Hoffenheim player Luiz Gustavo put through his own net with five minutes to go. Third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach lost ground in the title race, drawing 0-0 at home to second from bottom Freiburg. Leverkusen lost 3-2 at VfL Wolfsburg. Cologne had two players sent off, including Lukas Podolski, but held on for a 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin.
