Bayern Munich survived a stern test from Bayer Leverkusen to keep their seven-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win at the Allianz Arena.
Leverkusen made life difficult for the league leaders in the first half but, after Franck Ribery put Bayern in front, they wasted chances to win more handsomely.
The three points nevertheless give Bayern a sizeable cushion over Wolfsburg in second place while Leverkusen slip 13 points adrift, also dropping to fourth in the table behind Augsburg.
Wolfsburg kept up the pressure on with a 3-1 victory in the Lower Saxony derby at Hannover.
Kevin De Bruyne gave the Wolves the lead early on, but Joselu levelled for the home side just before half-time.
Bas Dost restored Wolfsburg's lead before Maximilian Arnold completed the victory which keeps the Wolves breathing down the back of Bayern's neck.
Borussia Monchengladbach ended a three-game losing streak to keep up with the chasing pack at the top of the table thanks to a 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin.
Tony Jantschke gave Gladbach the lead after 10 minutes, but it was his mistake which allowed Julian Schieber to level for Berlin on the stroke of half-time.
Gladbach wasted chance after chance before Raffael put them in front and Thorgan Hazard put the points in the bank. A late penalty from Salomon Kalou was merely a consolation for Hertha.
Schalke picked up their first away points under Roberto Di Matteo in style on Saturday with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting netting a hat trick in a 4-0 win at Stuttgart.
Choupo-Moting had the ball in the back of the net after less than 60 seconds before Max Meyer added a second shortly after. Choupo-Moting's second ensured Schalke led 3-0 after 21 minutes and he added a fourth in the second half to leave Stuttgart rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga.
Schalke have won only once on their travels this season, and never under Di Matteo, but the chances of that record changing appeared high when Choupo-Moting put them in front within a minute.
Alexander Esswein moved Augsburg into contention for a Champions League berth next season with a late goal in a 2-1 win at Cologne.
Anthony Ujah gave the hosts the lead in the 14th minute, but Nikola Djurdjic and Esswein turned the game around to earn Markus Weinzierl's men a fourth straight win, ensuring their place in the top four of the Bundesliga this weekend.
Elias Kachunga scored a late equaliser for Paderborn as they salvaged a 1-1 draw with Freiburg.
Vladimir Darida gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot in the 18th minute, but their attempts to defend their lead for the remainder of the game were denied in the dying seconds when Kachunga struck.
On Friday night, Borussia Dortmund had beaten Hoffenheim 1-0 to climb off the foot of the table.