Berlin, Jan 23: Robert Lewandowski’s brace helped Bayern Munich to edge resilient Hamburg 2-1 at the opener of the second half of the Bundesliga season. The Bundesliga continues after the winterbreak and front-runners Bayern on Friday reaped their 16th win of the season. Hamburg staged a courageous performance from the kick-off giving the German giants a hard time in the first half. Josep Guardiola’s men let the ball to the work but they failed to find a gap in Hamburg’s well-positioned defence. However, a moment of madness by Hamburg goalkeeper Rene Adler allowed the “Bavarians” to break the deadlock in the 37th minute. Adler underestimated a long ball into the box and brought down Thomas Mueller to cause a foul play pelty. Bayern’s top striker Robert Lewandowski stepped up and slotted home into the bottom right to make it 1-0 on the scoreboards. The Bundesliga front-runners remained unimpressed and responded in the 61st minute through Lewandowski, who redirected Mueller’s shot on target to wrap up his brace and his 17th goal of the season. IANS