Champions Bayern Munich overcame mid-table Nurnberg 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday to keep alive their slim title hopes.
Louis van Gaal's side, however, remain 12 points behind the early pace-setters in Germany, Borussia Dortmund, who won on Friday.
Bayern have now closed the gap on second-placed Bayer Leverkusen and third-placed Mainz to five points.
The home side took an early lead through in-form striker Mario Gomez, although they were unable to add to that before half-time, despite dominating.
However, 12 minutes after the interval, the game was effectively over as a contest when skipper Philipp Lahm scored from the penalty spot.
Gomez scored another in the final 15 minutes but he missed out on a hat-trick when he failed to convert another spot kick.
Mid-table Hoffenheim lost 1-0 at home to high-flying Freiburg, Papiss Demba Cisse netting the only goal with the last kick of the match.
Freiburg's victory lifted them to fourth place, just three points behind Leverkusen and Mainz.