Bayern Munich opened a 10-point gap at the top of the German league on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory at Freiburg ahead of their key Bundesliga clash at home to Borussia Dortmund this weekend.
Bayern host defending German champions Borussia on Saturday in Munich and victory at 10-man Freiburg mean Munich extended their lead by two points as the chasing pack lost ground.
Bayern took the lead after only 12 minutes when Germany star Thomas Mueller slotted home a penalty after Freiburg defender Oliver Sorg's handball.
The hosts were then reduced to 10 men when Senegal defender Fallou Diagne was shown a straight red when he brought down Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Munich's midfielder Thomas Mueller (L) congratulates Ukrainian midfielder Anatoliy Tymoshchuk after he scored during the German first division Bundesliga football match between SC Freiburg and Bayern Munich in Freiburg, southwestern Germany. Bayern Munich opened a 10-point gap at the top of the German league on Wednesday with a 2-0 victory at Freiburg.
With Dortmund looming, Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes made four changes in the second-half, including taking off striker Mario Gomez, and Munich made sure of the three points when Anatoliy Tymoschuk netted their second on 79 minutes.
Bayer Leverkusen took Dortmund's place in second spot after their 4-1 win at Werder Bremen to claim their fourth win in their last five league games.
Ex-Germany midfielder Gonzalo Castro scored the first two goals for Leverkusen before Nils Petersen pulled one back for Bremen with a 54th-minute header.
Leverkusen made sure of the three points when captain Simon Rolfes drilled home his shot on 74 minutes and five minutes later midfielder Jens Hegeler grabbed their fourth.
Borussia Moenchengladbach are up to ninth after their 2-0 win at home to VfL Wolfsburg while VfB Stuttgart earned a 2-1 win at home to bottom side Augsburg.
On Tuesday, Dortmund conceded a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at home to 10-man Fortuna Duesseldorf as Stefan Reisinger put the guests level on 78 minutes after Poland captain Jakub Blaszczykowski had scored for Dortmund on 43 minutes.
Schalke suffered a 3-1 defeat at Hamburg to drop to fourth in the league, while Frankfurt are down to fifth after their 3-1 defeat at home to Mainz.
Hanover 96 moved up into sixth, amongst the European places, with a 2-0 win at home to second-from-bottom Greuther Fuerth with goals by Senegal striker Mame Diouf and Swiss defender Mario Eggimann.