Only one point separates the top three teams with Dortmund and Borussia Moenchengladbach on 29 points, while Bayern lag a point behind, but can regain top spot if they win at Mainz on Sunday.

Having had their Champions League hopes ended with defeat at Arsenal in midweek, Dortmund picked up their seventh win in eight league games with goals by Poland striker Robert Lewandowski and Brazilian defender Felipe Santana.

Lewandowski grabbed his ninth league goal when he headed home on 16 minutes and Dortmund made sure of their first home win over Schalke since 2007 when Santana fired home from 13 metres out in the 139th Ruhr Valley derby.

Having booked their place in the knock-out phase of the Champions League with a late win over Chelsea on Wednesday, Leverkusen sealed a 3-3 draw at Hertha Berlin.

Swiss striker Eren Derdiyok, who scored the equaliser against Chelsea, hit a hat-trick, but having put his side in the lead in the 79th minute to make it 3-2, Berlin's teenage striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga levelled eight minutes from time.

The draw leaves Leverkusen sixth in the table while Berlin are 10th.

Bottom side Augbsurg picked up only their second victory of the season, and their first home win, when they inflicted a 2-0 defeat on 2009 Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg.

Midfielder Daniel Brinkmann scored his first goal of the season when he fired home on 65 minutes from a tight angle before Albania striker Edmond Kapllani scored their second in the 94th minute.

Augburg's win tightens things at the bottom of the table with two points now separating the bottom five sides.

Mid-table Nuremberg enjoyed a 1-0 win over Kaiserslautern, while Hoffenheim grabbed a 1-1 win over Freiburg.

On Friday, 'Gladbach knocked Bayern from top spot in the league with a 3-0 win at Cologne with former Germany striker Mike Hanke getting off the mark for the season with a double to seal his team's fourth straight win.

Having kept his side up last season only after they won a relegation play-off, Swiss coach Lucien Favre has worked a miracle this term by turning 'Gladbach into genuine title contenders.