Mainz, Germany – Mario Mandzukic netted a second-half double as Bayern Munich cruised to a 3-0 win over Mainz on Saturday at the Coface Arena.
The league leaders opened the scoring four minutes from the intermission when Thomas Muller collected a pass from Toni Kroos and ripped it past Mainz goalkeeper Christian Wetklo into the bottom left corner for the 1-0 advantage.
Mandzukic got on the score sheet in the 50th minute when he jumped on a pass in the penalty area from David Alaba and slotted it past the goalkeeper.
Just seven minutes later, Mandzukic was at it again as he got on the end of a cross from Philipp Lahm and nodded it home from in close to seal the result for Bayern.
With the victory, Bayern extends its margin atop the Bundesliga table to a comfortable 14 points over second-place Bayer Leverkusen, which will tangle with Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.
Mainz remains in fifth place on 30 points with the setback.
Dusseldorf 3, Stuttgart 1
Dusseldorf, Germany - Robbie Kruse netted a pair of goals as Dusseldorf topped Stuttgart, 3-1, on Saturday at the Esprit Arena.
Kruse got things going in the right direction for the home side just 10 minutes into the contest when he collected a loose ball in the box following a free kick and deposited it into the bottom left corner of the net.
Eight minutes before the interval, Kruse made it 2-0 when he got on the end of a pass from Ken Ilso and fired it home.
Christian Gentner pulled one back for Stuttgart on the hour mark, but Oliver Fink sealed the result for the hosts 15 minutes from time with a powerful left-footed strike from outside the box.
Dusseldorf moves into 13th place on 24 points, while Stuttgart is in 12th place, just one point ahead of Dusseldorf.
Greuther Furth 2, Schalke 1
Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Greuther Furth earned just its second league victory of the season on Saturday, posting a surprising 2-1 win against Schalke at the Veltins Arena.
Michel Bastos opened the scoring for Schalke two minutes after the break when he unleashed a left-footed strike that snuck into the bottom right corner, but the visitors equalized in the 52nd minute through Felix Klaus, who powered one home from in close.
Nikola Djurdjic secured the win for Greuther Furth in the second minute of stoppage time when he got on the end of a loose ball in the penalty area and headed it into the net for the winner, which lifted the visitors to 12 points on the season. Schalke remains in a Europa League position with 29 points.
Hoffenheim 2, Freiburg 1
Sinsheim, Germany - Kevin Volland scored twice inside the opening 30 minutes as Hoffenheim earned a 2-1 win over Freiburg on Saturday at the Rhein-Neckar Arena.
Things started poorly for Hoffenheim as Max Kruse slotted one into the net for Freiburg just four minutes into the game, but Volland equalized for the hosts six minutes later when he pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area and fired it home.
Volland was at it again in the 26th minute when he got on the end of a nice feed from Tobias Weis and easily put it in the back of the net.
With the result, Hoffenheim moved closer to avoiding relegation with 16 points from 20 matches, but the club is still five points from safety, while Freiburg remains in eighth place on 28 points.
Wolfsburg 1, Augsburg 1
Wolfsburg, Germany - Wolfsburg had to settle for a 1-1 draw with relegation- battling Augsburg on Saturday at the Volkswagen Arena.
Naldo struck first for the home side 23 minutes into the contest when he nodded a perfect header into the bottom left corner of the net following a cross from Diego.
But two minutes later, Augsburg found an equalizer through Jan Moravek, who corralled a pass from Koo Ja-Cheoi and slotted it home.
Wolfsburg remains in 14th place on 23 points, seven from the drop zone, while Augsburg sits in the relegation places on 14 points from 20 matches.
Eintracht 2, Hamburg 0
Hamburg, Germany - Srdjan Lakic scored twice in the first half as Eintracht handed Hamburg a 2-0 defeat on Saturday at the Imtech Arena.
Eintracht opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Lakic collected a pass from Stefan Aigner in the penalty area and tapped it home from close range to snag the 1-0 lead.
Lakic then made it 2-0 for Eintracht in the 36th minute with a powerful header courtesy of a cross from Aigner.
Hamburg fired several shots at Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, but the hosts were ultimately unable to find a goal.
The result lifts Eintracht to 36 points from 20 matches, just one behind Leverkusen. Hamburg, meanwhile, remains in ninth place on 28 points.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.