Toni scores twice to lead Bayern past Leverkusen

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - Italy striker Luca Toni scored twice to steer Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Bayern (53) went seven points clear at the top after second-placed Hamburg SV drew 1-1 at VfL Wolfsburg in a match featuring four red cards in the final 10 minutes.

Leverkusen are third with 44 points from 25 games. Werder Bremen, fourth on 43, visit Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday.

Toni broke free from his marker to convert a short pass from Miroslav Klose in the 17th minute in front of a sellout crowd of 69,000 at Bayern's Allianz Arena.

The towering striker doubled the lead on 59, heading in a Philipp Lahm cross at the far post as the league's top scorer took his tally for the season to 16 goals.

Bayern controlled the game but were let down by poor finishing from Klose and Lukas Podolski.

"The team performance was outstanding," coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told Premiere Television. "We dominated them, kept the pressure on.