Berlin (AFP) - Bayern Munich strung three wins together for the first time since November, beating Bochum 3-0 at home in the Bundesliga on Saturday ahead of next week's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Surprise challengers Union Berlin stayed right on Bayern's heels however, winning 2-1 away at RB Leipzig to come within one point of the Bavarians in Saturday's late game.
Bayern lacked fluidity early against a strong Bochum side in their afternoon fixture but were gifted a goal in the first half, when veteran forward Thomas Mueller pounced on an under-hit back pass from Bochum defender Saidy Janko to score.
Bayern's Bochum-born midfielder Leon Goretzka almost doubled the lead one minute before half-time, but headed wide from right in front.
In-form French forward Kingsley Coman made it 2-0 on 64 minutes, while former Arsenal winger Serge Gnabry won and converted a penalty with just over 15 minutes remaining to give his side a comfortable win.
Bayern, who started the season with three straight 1-1 draws, have now won three matches on the trot ahead of Tuesday's trip to face PSG in the Champions League.
Despite the win, a frustrated Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann said his side needed to improve before the PSG meeting.
"We played well in the first six minutes, after that we weren't in the game," he said.
"The substitutions brought fresh momentum (but) we have to improve by Tuesday."
In Saturday's late game, Union came from behind to win 2-1 at Leipzig, reclaiming second spot on the ladder.
Leipzig hit the lead thanks to a Benjamin Henrichs long-range stunner after 24 minutes and looked in full control.
Union hit back with an even more stunning strike by Janik Haberer after 61 minutes, the midfielder volleying in while unmarked from the edge of the box to set up a grandstand finished.
Union continued to push and won a penalty after 71 minutes when French defender Mo Simakan handled in the box.
Union centre-back Robin Knoche stepped up and hammered his shot direct and hard, grabbing a 2-1 lead for the visiting side.
Leipzig had a late equaliser ruled out for offside and Union held on for a famous away victory.
Union captain Rani Khedira toasted the "surreal" nature of his side's victory.
"It's a development that nobody could have imagined.It's all a bit surreal.
"Sometimes we don't really know how we do it.It wasn't a nice victory, but a hard-fought win."
Dortmund win again
Borussia Dortmund made it six from six in 2023, winning 2-0 at Bremen to go third in the table, three points behind Bayern.
With the match scoreless after 66 minutes, Dortmund manager Edin Terzic brought Jamie Bynoe-Gittens on for fellow youngster Gio Reyna and the change had an immediate impact, with the English teenager scoring a rocket just a minute later.
Germany midfielder Julian Brandt missed a chance to put Dortmund 2-0 up 10 minutes later, but got a second with six minutes remaining to seal the three points for the visitors.
Terzic credited the strength of his bench for the win, saying "the fact that once again a substitute scored is proof of the balanced quality of our squad."
Elsewhere, Stuttgart defender Dan-Axel Zagadou gave away two second-half penalties to help Freiburg come from behind to win 2-1 at home, their second league win of 2023.
Stuttgart, sitting in 16th place and embroiled in a relegation dogfight, hit the lead early through Chris Fuehrich to take a 1-0 lead at half-time, but Vincenzo Grifo scored twice from the spot to seal a come-from-behind victory.
Leverkusen got back to winning ways after two straight losses with a comfortable 3-1 win away at under-fire Hoffenheim thanks to goals from Robert Andrich, Moussa Diaby and Adam Hlozek.
A double from South Korean midfielder Lee Jae-sung and a goal from Austrian forward Karim Onisiwo helped Mainz to a 3-1 home win over Augsburg, who got on the scoresheet thanks to a first-half penalty from Bosnian forward Ermedin Demirovic.
