Mario Gomez scored a first-half hat trick

Mario Gomez scored a first-half hat trick as Bayern Munich took a major step toward the knockout stage of the Champions League by defeating Napoli 3-2 on Wednesday.

Gomez opened the scoring in the 17th, taking advantage of an opening in Napoli’s defense. Bastian Schweinsteiger saw the space and sent a through ball to Gomez, who shook off Hugo Campagnaro and slotted past goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis.

It was Bayern’s 250th goal in the Champions League. Gomez doubled the lead in the 23rd, when Toni Kroos floated a perfect cross behind Napoli’s defense to the unmarked striker. Gomez easily drove the ball past De Sanctis.

In the 42nd, Bayern produced one of the best moves of the match, with Franck Ribery feeding Kroos as the Napoli defense stood helplessly. De Sanctis stopped Kroos’ effort but couldn’t hold onto the ball and Gomez tapped in from close range.

Gomez now has 13 goals in his last 10 Champions League games. With a total of 17, he is the top German scorer in the competition. “We wanted to be aggressive but we knew that they also would be aggressive,” Gomez said. “We allowed a couple of counterattacks in the first half but otherwise did very well before the break.

Naples Italian head coach Walter Mazzarri throws a bottle in the Allianz Arena

• Schweinsteiger out until New Year

Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has undergone surgery on his broken collar bone and will be out of action until the New Year, the Bavarian club said on Thursday.

"The fracture was successfully repaired and a plate inserted in an operation performed at around 2 a.m. on Thursday morning," said Bayern, after the player was injured during Wednesday's 3-2 win over Napoli in the Champions League. Bayern said Schweinsteiger will stay in hospital until Friday and must rest completely for two weeks after that.

"The first step in his sports rehabilitation programme will be to resume jogging, before the player is cleared to resume training with the team in approximately six weeks.

"That in turn means Schweinsteiger will not play again this calendar year," it added.

"It's a blow, because he's been in outstanding form recently," said coach Jupp Heynckes. "In the second half, we saw how important Bastian is to the team. Our game suffered badly after he went off."

Fans go to Italy for soccer - GET STABBED IN THE BACK!

Italian media is reporting that four Bayern Munich fans were hospitalized with stab wounds before Tuesday's Champions League match against Napoli.

The ANSA news agency reports that two men were admitted to hospital after being stabbed near the San Paolo Stadium Tuesday afternoon. One had suffered a knife injury to his knee.

Earlier, ANSA reported that two men aged 42 and 47, respectively, were hospitalized after telling police they were walking in town late Monday when people aboard two scooters stabbed them in their backs with a knife.

Napoli's Mafia used lasers against Bayern Munich players during the game. 
Napoli's Mafia cheer their team against Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich's amazing 1147 minute run without conceding comes to an end

It's finally over. A full 19 hours and seven minutes passed without Bayern Munich's Manuel Neuer conceding a goal, but in Tuesday evening's Champions League Group A clash, that streak ended as Holger Badstuber redirected a cross into his own net, levelling the score as the Bavarians were held to a 1-1 draw with Napoli at San Paolo.

Between the 62nd minute of their Bundesliga opener against Borussia Monchengladbach on Aug. 7 and the 39th minute of Tuesday's match with Napoli, few shots were taken against the Bavarians. Fewer forced Neuer to make a save, and none managed to beat the Germany No. 1. In fact, it was not even a proper shot that beat Neuer. Christian Maggio's cross was not en route to the goal line and would have been gathered by the goalkeeper had it not been re-routed.

Nonetheless, the goal stands - and Neuer's record has ended. Though the run is now over, Bayern has plenty of reason to be satisfied. The team has played more games and faced arguably better competition than any of Europe's elite teams, and its record of two goals conceded in 15 matches is, quite comfortably, the best of any team on the continent. The Napoli match in no way changes the German giant's status as a world-class defensive unit, and more than anything else, serves as a benchmark for the rest of the season.

Bayern Munich's Holger Badstuber, right, competes with Napoli's Marek Hamsik during a Champions League, group A soccer match in Naples, Italy, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011.
Mafia Napoli's Christian Maggio, left, and girlie-man Edinson Cavani celebrate after Bayern Munich's Holger Badstuber scored an own goal.

DAZZLING Bayern beat Hertha to go five points clear

Oct. 15 , 2011

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich scored three times in eight minutes during a 4-0 victory over Hertha Berlin on Saturday to move five points clear at the top.

Top scorer Mario Gomez took his league tally to 10 goals with a brace, while Franck Ribery, who created two goals, and Bastian Schweinsteiger added one apiece for Bayern, who have conceded only one goal in all competitions this season. The Bavarians move up to 22 points from nine games, five ahead of Borussia Moenchengladbach, who drew 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen.