Dortmund win to consolidate top spot

Borussia Dortmund remain top of the Bundesliga after a 1-0 victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, on a day when FC Bayern München and VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach secured important victories.

Midfielder Shinji Kagawa netted moments before the break as Jürgen Klopp's side recorded their fifth straight league victory to maintain a two-point lead over rivals Bayern, who triumphed 2-0 against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, thanks to first-half strikes by Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller.

Meanwhile, Mönchengladbach enhanced their title aspirations with a comprehensive 3-0 home win over FC Schalke 04. Marco Reus, Mike Hanke and Juan Arango steered the Foals into an unassailable lead after 32 minutes, as they leapfrog Schalke into third.

Fifth-placed SV Werder Bremen had Marko Arnautović to thank as the Austrian striker cancelled out Jannik Vestergaard's opener to secure a point versus TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, while 1. FSV Mainz 05 suffered a similar fate, surrendering a 1-0 advantage to draw 1-1 with Hannover 96.

Elsewhere, Martin Harnik’s hat-trick inspired VfB Stuttgart to their first Bundesliga win in eight, as they cruised to a 5-0 success against Hertha BSC Berlin, who remains precariously close to the drop zone.