Bayern Munich went back to the top of the Bundesliga, for the time being at least, with a 3-0 win over Mainz.

Louis van Gaal's side move one point above unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen, who play at home to struggling Freiburg on Sunday. Although Bayern controlled much of the game against a defensive Mainz side, it took time for them to turn their class into goals.

The Bavarians scored with a header from Daniel van Buyten in the first part of the second half. That was followed by a goal by Mario Gomez before a free kick was successfully curled into the net by Arjen Robben.

"The weather wasn't good and it was difficult to play football," Robben said. "We scored the goal and afterwards it became a bit easier.”

Manager van Gaal said he was happy with the result: "We created a lot of chances and kept the pressure on their keeper. I'm very satisfied, because I've seen some good goals scored by a very good Bayern team."

Bayern may not enjoy the top spot for long, with Leverkusen's guests Freiburg in difficulty just above the relegation zone.

Third-placed Schalke 04 also kept competition tight at the top, chalking up a 2-0 win over Hoffenheim. The result puts them on 41 points, equal with Leverkusen.

Schalke striker Kevin Kuranyi notched up his eleventh goal this season after 19 minutes and Lukas Schmitz netted the second with a deflection four minutes after the restart.

Bremen struggling

There was a flurry of goals at Borussia Moenchengladbach, where Werder Bremen went down 4-3. It was a fifth consecutive defeat for Bremen, who were at least able to muster a partial comeback after conceding three goals in the first 18 minutes.

Argentinean Raul Bobadilla set up the first two goals for his club, and was the star of the show when he scored Moenchengladbach's last two.

Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf's team has not won a league match since late November, and is under increasing pressure with the club 14 points from the top.

"It was a catastrophic defensive performance which makes it very difficult to win a game," Werder sports director Klaus Allofs told Sky Sport television.

FC Cologne moved further away from relegation danger with a second successive away win, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 thanks to an own goal by Russ.

There was good news for second from bottom Nuremberg, whose 3-1 victory at Hanover is their second win in 10 games. Swiss striker Albert Bunjaku managed a hat-trick for the visitors.

The result leaves bottom side Hertha Berlin, who drew 0-0 at home against VfL Bochum, five points adrift despite being unbeaten for three weeks.

Defending champions Wolfsburg drew 1-1 at Hamburg on Friday.

rc/dpa/Reuters/AFP
Editor: Andrew Bowen