Dominant Bayern go 20 points clear

FC Bayern München's seemingly unstoppable march towards the Bundesliga title continued as Josep Guardiola's men won 5-1 against FC Schalke 04 to move 20 points clear at the top.

After shipping six against Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, the return to domestic action provided no relief for Schalke, who found themselves behind just three minutes in when David Alaba's free-kick looped over Ralf Fährmann after clipping the wall. Arjen Robben's neat dink made it two before Mario Mandžukić's headed third. Robben completed the first-half scoring in the 28th minute, and completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot in the 77th minute after Rafinha had put into his own net at the other end.

Borussia Dortmund went second as they took advantage of a Bayer 04 Leverkusen's loss by defeating 1. FC Nürnberg 3-0. After being held until the interval, Jürgen Klopp's side went ahead on 51 minutes as Mats Hummels followed in to score after Robert Lewnadowski's header was saved. The Poland forward doubled the lead on 64 minutes and Henrikh Mkhitaryan rounded things off late on.

Leverkusen suffered a third successive league defeat as Eric Choupo-Moting got the only goal from close range in a 1-0 loss to 1. FSV Mainz 05. Sixth-placed Mainz are now a point clear of VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, held 1-1 at bottom side TSV Eintracht Braunschweig. It was the same scoreline at FC Augsburg, where Hannover 96 were the visitors.

After five without a win, SV Werder Bremen picked up three points as Zlatko Junuzovic's low 19th-minute finish ensured a 1-0 success against Hamburger SV.