Bayern win again; Mainz hold Fortuna
Bayern Munich re-established a 17-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga but were made to work hard for the points at struggling Hoffenheim.
A solitary goal from Mario Gomez late in the first half was enough for Bayern to take the spoils and leave Hoffenheim five points adrift of a relegation play-off berth, and 11 away from safety with 10 games of the season remaining.
Bayern had to wait until the 38th minute before making the breakthrough.
Igor de Camargo gave away possession cheaply and Jerome Boateng's cross was headed back by Franck Ribery to Gomez, who beat Heurelho Gomes with his first real attempt on goal of the afternoon.
Ivan Klasnic scored his first Bundesliga goal in almost five years as Mainz earned a 1-1 draw from their trip to Fortuna Dusseldorf.
The former Bolton forward, who was included in the Mainz starting XI for the first time this season, brought Thomas Tuchel's side level before half-time after a Bo Svensson own goal had put the hosts in front early on.
Fortuna arguably enjoyed the better chances of the game, but they were unable to find a way through as they picked up a rare draw to edge seven points clear of the relegation zone.
The draw moves Mainz to within two points of the top six and goes some way towards making up for their midweek defeat to Freiburg in the DFB-Pokal.
Saturday
Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Borussia Dortmund bounced back from their midweek DFB-Pokal loss to Bayern Munich with a 3-1 Bundesliga victory over Hannover.
The Polish striker, who turned down the offer of a new contract earlier this week, struck twice in the opening 21 minutes to put the home side in charge.
Mohammed Abdellaoue pulled a goal back for Hannover in the 40th minute but Julian Schieber made it 3-1 midway through the second half as Dortmund got back to winning ways.
Second-placed Dortmund remain a point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, who snatched a late 2-1 win over Stuttgart.
Vedad Ibisevic's penalty had put the Swabians ahead in the 12th minute, but a penalty from Stefan Kiessling brought Leverkusen back on level terms 10 minutes from the end before Lars Bender completed the turnaround.
Basement side Greuther Furth shared a 1-1 draw with Hamburg although the point does little to help their desperate fight against relegation.
Furth took the lead in the 14th minute through Nikola Djurdjic but Maximilian Beister equalised for Hamburg in the 22nd minute.
Augsburg moved within six points of safety following a 1-0 win at Werder Bremen, courtesy of Tobias Werner's 29th-minute strike.
Julian Draxler scored two goals and set up a third as Schalke beat Wolfsburg 4-1.
Draxler's first goal in the 33rd minute was cancelled out by Ivica Olic early in the second half, but Draxler scored again after 63 minutes with Jefferson Farfan and Klaas Jan Huntelaar adding gloss to the scoreline.
Jonathan Schmid's late goal gave Freiburg a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg, who had taken the lead through Timmy Simons' first-half penalty.
On Friday, Luuk de Jong netted midway through the first half to hand Borussia Monchengladbach a 1-0 away win over Eintracht Frankfurt
Sunday's Bundesliga Results
Saturday's Bundesliga Results
Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Hannover
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Stuttgart
Friday's Bundesliga Results