Munich, Germany – A goal in each half from Mario Mandzukic allowed Bayern Munich to maintain its nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga as Bayern topped last-place Greuther Furth, 2-0, at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Furth did well to keep the score close but there was little doubt that Bayern would claim its fourth win in six matches after Mandzukic opened the scoring in the 26th minute.
Thomas Muller sent a volley to the front of the net and Mandzukic collected the ball and beat goalkeeper Wolfgang Hesl from 10 yards.
The Croatian could have added to his goal total on a few occasions after that, but he had to wait until the hour mark to make it 2-0 by getting on the other end of a free kick from Toni Kroos to head the ball into the lower corner of the net.
Bayer Leverkusen 3, Eintracht 1
Leverkusen, Germany - Bayer Leverkusen continued its fine form on Saturday at the Bay Arena with a comfortable 3-1 win over fourth-place Eintracht to remain nine points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich.
Leverkusen has won six of its last seven matches to move into second place, and first-half goals from Sebastian Boenisch and Stefan Kiessling put the home side in a commanding position.
Boenisch scored on the rebound from a corner kick while Kiessling doubled the lead two minutes later after being set up by Gonzalo Castro.
Andre Schurrle's fifth goal of the season in the 58th minute padded Leverkusen's lead before Alexander Meier pulled one back for the visitors 12 minutes from time.
Borussia Dortmund 5, Werder Bremen 0
Bremen, Germany - Borussia Dortmund kicked off the second half of its Bundesliga campaign in style on Saturday as the club rolled to a 5-0 win at Werder Bremen.
First-half goals from Marco Reus and Mario Gotze put Dortmund comfortably ahead at halftime, and the visitors only made things worse after the break.
Felipe Santana scored early in the second half to extend the lead to 3-0, while Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski each scored in the final 10 minutes to cap the emphatic win.
Dortmund remains in third place with the victory, 12 points back of leaders Bayern Munich.
Wolfsburg 2, Stuttgart 0
Wolfsburg, Germany - Dieter Hecking got off to a good start as Wolfsburg manager on Saturday as his side claimed a 2-0 home win over Stuttgart.
Following a scoreless first half, Diego broke the deadlock for the home side when he found space in the attacking half of the field and fired a shot beyond the reach of Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich that went in off the post.
Diego had a hand in the second goal as well in the 67th minute when his free kick found Alexander Madlung inside the penalty area, allowing the defender to get up and head the ball past Ulreich.
Hoffenheim 0, Monchengladbach 0
Sinsheim, Germany - Hoffenheim snapped a six-game losing streak but was only able to come away with a point against Monchengladbach as the two sides finished in a 0-0 draw at the Rhein Neckar Arena.
Marco Kurz took charge of Hoffenheim over the winter break, and although his side failed to create many chances at the offensive end, they also defended well against the top-half side to move one point closer to safety.
Roel Brouwers had the best chance of the match for Monchengladbach with a close-range header that sailed over the crossbar.
Hoffenheim is seven points from safety with the result, while Monchengladbach remains in eighth place.
Mainz 0, Freiburg 0
Mainz, Germany - Mainz and Freiburg played out a 0-0 draw at Coface Arena on Saturday in extremely cold conditions as both sides remain in the hunt for a European place.
The match took a while to get going and finally came to life a bit in the second half as Pavel Krmas looked threatened for Freiburg and Zdenek Pospech went close with two chances for Mainz.
Shawn Parker was sent off in the 89th minute for Mainz after collecting a second yellow card, but Freiburg was unable to take advantage.
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