Bundesliga Matchday 26 roundup
Werder Bremen pulled within three points of a Europa League spot, Frankfurt within one of a Champions League spot. Wout Weghorst's hat-trick carried Wolfsburg to a big victory, and Marco Reus was the hero in Berlin.
Bayern Munich 6-0 Mainz
James Rodriguez scored a stunning hat trick as Bayern Munich delivered their second straight 6-0 victory in the Bundesliga. The Colombian stole the show with a marvelous spread of goals, with the second the pick of the bunch. Also in the act were Robert Lewandowski, Leon Goretzka and Alphonso Davies - who scored his first ever for the club. The win puts Bayern seven goals ahead of Dortmund.
Frankfurt 1-0 Nuremberg
For the first time this season, Frankfurt won a game by a single goal. Usually deadly in front of goal, the home side found themselves wanting. A superb pass from Luka Jovic and then a cross from Filip Kostic was turned home by Martin Hinteregger, but 18 attempts later and Frankfurt were still only one goal ahead. Hanno Behrens nearly stole a point late, but Kevin Trapp made a huge save.
Leverkusen 1-3 Bremen
Max Kruse scored two and assisted another in a match-winning performance for Werder Bremen. Maxi Eggestein set up Kruse beautifully for the opener, and then Kruse turned provider as Milot Rashica tucked away a second. Leverkusen improved in the second half, and Leon Bailey hit a wicked free kick to make for a frantic finale. Leverkusen couldn't convert though, and Kruse added a superb third.
Schalke 0-1 RB Leipzig
A change of coach offered Schalke no relief as they slipped to a sixth consecutive defeat that leaves them in real relegation danger. Timo Werner (right) did the damage in the first half, slamming home a loose ball in the 14th minute to register his first goal of 2019. The Royal Blues have now drawn a blank in 10 of their 26 Bundesliga games.
Wolfsburg 5-2 Fortuna Düsseldorf
A hat-trick from Wout Weghorst (right) helped Wolfsburg bounce back strongly from their hammering by Bayern Munich last week. The Wolves fell behind early to Kaan Ayhan’s free kick before Admir Mehmedi lifted an equalizer over Michael Rensing. Weghorst's treble came in 34 second-half minutes while Robin Knoche also got on the scoresheet. Benito Raman's 65th minute stike was only a consolation.
Augsburg 3-1 Hannover
Substitute Sergio Cordova (pictured) sparked an Augsburg comeback that takes them another step closer to safety. Hendrik Weydandt headed struggling Hannover in to an early lead but Cordova's 65th minute strike leveled things up. Jonathan Schmid put the home side in the lead 14 minutes later before Andre Hahn wrapped it up late on. Hannover have won just once since mid November.
Stuttgart 1-1 Hoffenheim
Andrej Kramaric's seventh goal in nine games wasn't enough for Hoffenheim to take all three points as on-loan Steven Zuber equalized against his parent club. Kramaric's strike did make him the joint-highest scorer in Hoffenheim's Bundesliga history (46 goals) but this was Hoffenheim's 11th draw of the season, a statistic that looks as if it may cost them a European place.
Hertha Berlin 2-3 Borussia Dortmund
It didn't start very well for BVB after trailing twice through a Salomon Kalou brace, but Lucien Favre's players have managed to scrape an important win. Marco Reus scored the winner three minutes into stoppage time, with Jadon Sancho providing two assists in the Berlin rain. The title race is still on.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Freiburg
Vincenzo Grifo (left) chose not to celebrate when he scored against his former team on Friday. The Freiburg winger had put the visitors in front by firing in a cross from Pascal Stenzel. Alassane Plea leveled the score shortly thereafter, tapping in a pass from Thorgan Hazard. Gladbach are now winless in their last four league games at home and are slowly losing their grip on their top-four spot.