Kaiserslautern, Germany – With the Bundesliga title already secured, Borussia Dortmund has its sights set on the league record for points in a season, and the club stayed on course to do just that with a resounding 5-2 win over Kaiserslautern at Fritz-Walter-Stadion on Saturday.
An own goal from Feilpe Santana gifted Kaiserslautern the lead in the 16th minute, but Lucas Barrios netted two goals in the following 10 minutes to put Dortmund in front. Mario Gotze added a third for the visitors in the 33rd minute to give his side a two-goal cushion heading into halftime.
Pierre de Wit pulled Kaiserslautern to within a goal with his strike four minutes after the break, but Barrios put the result beyond any doubt by completing his hat trick seven minutes later. Ivan Perisic added insult to injury for Kaiserslautern, netting 14 minutes from time to complete the rout.
Dortmund has accumulated 78 points this season to sit just one point shy of the record with one match remaining. The Westphalians will look to secure that feat in their final league encounter, a home match against Freiburg.
Kaiserslautern's disappointing season in the Bundesliga will come to end next Saturday when the club heads to Hannover.
Bayern Munich 2, Stuttgart 0
Munich, Germany - Bayern Munich avoided a Champions League hangover to ease past Stuttgart at Mercedes-Benz Arena on Saturday as Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller handed the visitors a 2-0 victory.
Gomez produced his 26th goal of the campaign, leaving him second in the scoring chart behind Klaas Jan Huntelaar after the Dutchman bagged a brace for Schalke on Saturday. Muller wrapped up the affair by netting Bayern's second in the dying minutes.
With the Bundesliga title already clinched by Dortmund, Bayern's attention will go to the Pokal Cup final against the Westphalians on May 12 before the Champions League final against Chelsea on May 19.
Bayer Leverkusen 1, Hannover 0
Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer Leverkusen secured its second straight league win on Saturday by edging Hannover, 1-0, at the BayArena.
Stefan Kiessling's strike 14 minutes from time lifted Leverkusen into fifth place in the Bundesliga and clinched a spot in next season's Europa League.
Hannover is winless in its last three Bundesliga contests, leaving the club seventh in the table on 45 points.
Freiburg 4, Cologne 1
Freiburg, Germany - Freiburg continued its blazing run with a comfortable 4-1 win over Cologne at Mage Solar Stadion on Saturday.
Mensur Mujdza put Freiburg in front in the first half before Lukas Podolski leveled quickly after the break. But the home side hit for three second-half goals as Karim Guede, Daniel Caligiuri and Sebastian Freis netted a goal apiece to seal all three points.
Freiburg's climb out of relegation danger has seen the club land 12th in the league with one match to go. Cologne has been less fortunate, sitting third from bottom on 30 points.
Nurnberg 3, Hoffenheim 2
Sinsheim, Germany - Tomas Pekhart's two-goal performance Saturday helped power Nurnberg to a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim at Rhein-Neckar Arena.
Pekhart's opening goal was canceled out by Andreas Beck in the 22nd minute, but the visitors regained the lead through Daniel Didavi in the 45th minute. Pekhart added another in the 71st minute to put the match on ice and complete his brace.
Nurnberg's strong finish to the season has seen the club improve to 42 points. Saturday's win brought the club ahead of Hoffenheim, which sits 11th in the table on 41 points.
Schalke 4, Hertha Berlin 0
Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Schalke cruised to a 4-0 defeat of Hertha Berlin at the Veltins-Arena on Saturday to book its spot in next season's Champions League.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored twice to climb to the summit of the Bundesliga scoring chart with 27 goals on the season. Raul and Lewis Holtby rounded out the scoring in Saturday's tilt.
The win ensures that Schalke, on 61 points, will finish third in Germany's top flight. Hertha Berlin, sitting second from bottom on 28 points, has gone six games without a win.
Wolfsburg 3, Werder Bremen 1
Wolfsburg, Germany - Wolfsburg claimed a 3-1 win at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday to hand Werder Bremen a third straight defeat.
Patrick Helmes scored twice in the victory and Hasan Salihamidzic added a third to lift Wolfsburg into the top-half of the table.
Werder Bremen, sitting ninth on 42 points, got its lone goal of the contest from Markus Rosenberg.
Monchengladbach 0, Augsburg 0
Monchengladbach, Germany - Augsburg secured another season of Bundesliga action on Saturday thanks to a 0-0 draw with Monchengladbach at Borussia-Park.
With five points from its last three matches, Augsburg avoided relegation to improve to 35 points on the campaign.
Monchengladbach is assured fourth place, clinching a Champions League qualification spot with Saturday's point.
Hamburg 0, Mainz 0
Hamburg, Germany - Hamburg avoided relegation Saturday after playing to a 0-0 draw with Mainz at the Imtech Arena.
With two consecutive Bundesliga draws, Hamburg improved to 36 points to guarantee itself top-flight soccer next season. Mainz, on 39 points this season, has drawn three in a row.