Bayern Munich’s Thomas Müller set up one goal and netted a penalty to help the Bundesliga leaders beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 and go 10 points clear as the league resumed on Friday after the winter break.

Despite the absence of key players, including the injured Franck Ribéry and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern picked up where they left off in December to stretch their unbeaten run to 42 consecutive league games.

After a nervous opening spell in which third-placed Gladbach’s Max Kruse squandered a golden chance, Bayern, who have now won their last nine league games, settled and came close when Mario Götze’s shot scraped the post.

Midfielder Götze started in a lone striker role after Mario Mandzukic was dropped from the squad for not having trained well, according to sports director Matthias Sammer.

He soon had better luck when Müller raced down the right wing and cut the ball back for his Germany team-mate to drill into the net for the lead after seven minutes.

Gladbach were constantly on the backfoot against a Bayern side who never hit top speed but controlled possession, using defender Philipp Lahm as a holding midfielder while Spaniard Thiago orchestrated the game.

The hosts did come close twice on the stroke of half-time with the Bayern goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, palming a Kruse shot on to the post and denying Juan Arango from close range.

Müller got on the scoresheet eight minutes after the restart, converting a penalty to condemn Gladbach to their first home defeat of the campaign before the hosts hit the woodwork again through Patrick Herrmann.

• Bundesliga
• Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Bayern Munich
• European club football

theguardian.com