Berlin, Jan 23 (IANS): 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, Xinhua news agency reported.

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 penalty. Bayern's top striker Robert Lewandowski stepped up and slotted home into the bottom right to make it 1-0 on the scoreboards.

Bayern controlled the proceedings on the pitch after the restart but nonetheless Hamburg restored parity against the run of the game as Aaron Hunt's free kick into the box crossed the goal line untouched with eight minutes into the second half.

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.