Dortmund deliver response to Bayern

Borussia Dortmund have extended their lead at the Bundesliga summit to four points with a 3-1 defeat of Hannover 96, after FC Bayern München moved second by downing fellow title rivals FC Schalke 04 2-0.

Bayern made the first statement of the day when they dented Schalke’s championship hopes thanks to a Franck Ribéry double in Munich. The France forward chipped Timo Hildebrand before finishing into an empty net after 36 minutes and he doubled his tally with a deflected effort ten minutes after the interval.

That lifted Jupp Heynckes' men ahead of VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach and a point behind Dortmund, but the champions promptly responded with their seventh consecutive league victory. Robert Lewandowski struck either side of half-time for the hosts and Ivan Perišić made sure of the result in added time after Didier Konan Ya had given Hannover hope with a fierce effort from distance on the hour mark.