Bundesliga match-day 26 in pictures
Bayern-beaters Bayer Leverkusen sought to do the double over the runaway league leaders on the weekend, Dortmund entertained Freiburg and Augsburg travelled to Hamburg desperate for points. Come see what transpired.
The prolific Pole
Robert Lewandowski has now scored at least once in his last eight straight games - a Borussia Dortmund record. He scored two in a 5-1 win over Freiburg, but a splendid assist to Leonardo Bittencourt for the fifth was arguably the Pole's brightest moment of the game. Nuri Sahin also shone in a rare start since his Dortmund return. Just like Lewandowski, Sahin scored two and made another.
Narrow win, vast lead
Bayern Munich nearly slipped up on their visit to Leverkusen, the only Bundesliga team to have beaten them in the league this season. A late Philipp Wollscheid own goal secured a 2-1 win for the league leaders, who are now 20 points clear. Bayern need just five more points to mathematically guarantee the title. Away from home, Bayern have won 12, drawn one, lost none, scored 30 and conceded two.
Heavy defeat, despite domination
Schalke largely dominated Saturday's game in Nuremberg - and yet the Royal Blues lost 3-0, failing to build on last week's derby triumph over Dortmund. Markus Feulner (sliding) opened the scoring against the run of play before the break, and Japanese star Hiroshi Kiyotake set up a pair of Nuremberg goals on the counterattack in the second period. Schalke's revival stutters.
"Habemus Punkte!"
Perhaps with the Vatican in mind, Augsburg went with a little Latin and German on their Twitter feed, exclaiming: "We have points!" in a mixture of the two languages. They scored a trinity of points, no less, and on the road in Hamburg. Captain Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker scored the only goal of the game up north after just eight minutes and Augsburg were able to cling on against their hosts.
Deeper into the drop zone
As Augsburg won in 16th, 17th-placed Hoffenheim could only draw against visitors Mainz. The 0-0 bore draw is unlikely to satisfy either side: Hoffenheim needed better, Thomas Tuchel and Mainz probably expected better. Sixth-placed Mainz missed the chance to jump back ahead of Schalke, while Hoffenheim are now four full points adrift of Augsburg with the season's end approaching.
Stuttgart fight back for key points
Had the season started after the winter break, Stuttgart would be in the relegation zone. Prior to Sunday's comeback win over Frankfurt, they were in 15th, the last safe spot. Vedad Ibisevic and Georg Niedermeier scored the second half goals that pushed Bruno Labbadia's side a little further towards mid-table safety. Frankfurt broke their 500-minute-plus goal drought early on, but still lost.
Fürth hold off-color Bremen
Bremen's defense is the most leaky in the league, while Greuther Fürth's attack is the Bundesliga's most blunt - making predictions difficult ahead of the game. It ended at 2-2, meaning Bremen are now winless in five league games. Bremen had the better of the game as a whole, but could only find the net with a pair of penalties. Fürth's Thanos Petsos scored the pick of the goals, a long free kick.
Honors even in first fixture
Wolfsburg are woeful at home, Düsseldorf are dreadful away - so it's little wonder neither side managed to win on Friday evening. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw - an extra point for their tallies this season. Both sides are mired in lower-mid-table mediocrity, but they should be safe from relegation - even though they're not mathematically assured just yet.
Foals win crucial, but drab, game
There was little to admire when Borussia Mönchengladbach played Hannover, except the goal pictured here. Patrick Herrmann dissected Hannover's defense, allowing Luuk de Jong to chip the ball over Ron-Robert Zieler. Gladbach move up to seventh in the Bundesliga, one spot shy of European qualification, as a result. The 'Foals' were the only team between fourth and 10th place to win this weekend.