Borussia Dortmund crushed Cologne 6-1 on Saturday, propelling the home team to the top of the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern Munich. Sebastien Haller and Marco Reus each scored twice.
Raphael Guerreiro and Donyell Malen also scored, putting Dortmund a point ahead of Bayern, who will visit Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
Guerreiro, Haller, Reus, and Malen gave Dortmund a 4-0 halftime lead before Davie Selke, Cologne's first goal in five games, trimmed the deficit to one.
Haller, who has drawn criticism for his inability to score as he works to recover from testicular cancer, pounced on a rebound after 69 minutes to record his first Dortmund hat trick.
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A minute later, Reus added another goal to give Dortmund, who played without numerous first-team players, a commanding victory.
The result was a comeback for Dortmund, who had lost at Chelsea in the Champions League and struggled to a draw against Schalke after opening the year with ten straight victories.
After the break for international competition, Dortmund's next match is against Bayern on April 1.
Cologne has lost five straight games and is currently in 13th place, six points outside the playoff spot for relegation.
Leipzig Lost Against Bochum. –
Bochum surprised RB, Leipzig 1-0 at home earlier on Saturday, thanks to a goal from Erhan Masovic in the second half, giving the visitors a setback in the race for the top four.
Leipzig looked lifeless up front and listless in transition as they attempted to bounce back from Tuesday's 7-0 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Manchester City.
Masovic pounced on a loose ball in the penalty area three minutes into the second half and headed past Leipzig goalkeeper Janis Blaswich to give Bochum the lead.
Dominik Szoboszlai, a midfielder for Leipzig, had a last-second opportunity to tie the score. Still, his effort struck the post inside and rebounded into Bochum goalkeeper Manuel Riemann's arms.
In a "wild closing 10 minutes," Bochum coach Thomas Letsch lauded the "excellent" Riemann for helping his team hold on.
Leipzig head Marco Rose branded the result "disappointing" and regretted his team's "failure to take (their) great chances".
With their second straight victory, Bochum moved four points ahead of the playoff spot for relegation.
If Union Berlin and Freiburg win on Sunday, Leipzig might finish the weekend as low as seventh.
Arne Maier's goal in the second half was offset by a penalty from Schalke's Marius Buelter in stoppage time, allowing Schalke to salvage a point at Augsburg in a 1-1 draw.
Ermedin Demirovic's dismissal midway through the second half cost Augsburg the opportunity to record their fourth 1-0 victory in their previous five home games.
Schalke's unbeaten streak now stands at eight games, thanks to the draw, although the visitors are still in the bottom two.
Hoffenheim defeated Hertha Berlin 3-1 at home with two goals from Ilhas Bebou and two penalties from Andrej Kramaric in the first half.
Hoffenheim's first win since October ended an eight-game losing streak and lifted them out of last place and the relegation zone.
Omar Marmoush's goal in the second half gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 victory at Stuttgart, preserving their slim chance of qualifying for Europa.
