Bayern Munich restored their six-point lead at the top of the standings after thrashing Koln 4-0 courtesy of a hat-trick by Robert Lewandowski at RheinEnergieStadion.
Lewandowski gave Bayern an early lead and Corentin Tolisso gave them a two-goal cushion in the 25th minute.
Mark Uth thought he had pulled a goal back for Koln six minutes later but the goal was disallowed for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Lewandowski put the game to bed for Julian Nagelsmann's charges just after the hour-mark and made it 4-0 in the last quarter of an hour and completed his hat-trick.
RB Leipzig got closer to the European places with back-to-back wins after beating Stuttgart 2-0 at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Andre Silva gave the Red Bulls a perfect start with an early goal from the penalty spot and Christopher Nkunku secured the three points with the second goal 20 minutes before time.
Union Berlin extended their unbeaten run to four matches after coming from behind to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 at Stadion An der Alten.
Hoffenheim opened the scoring in the 16th minute thanks to an own goal by Timo Baumgartl but Andreas Voglsammer levelled matters for Union six minutes later.
Grischa Promel netted the winner for Union 17 minutes before time.
Mainz got over their back-to-back defeats after edging Bochum 1-0 at Mewa Arena.
Sebastian Polter had a big chance to break the deadlock for Bochum from the penalty spot in the 32nd minute but his spot-kick was saved by goalkeeper Robin Zentner.
That penalty miss by Polter proved costly, as Jeremiah St. Juste eventually broke the deadlock for Mainz early in the second stanza and that was enough to hand them the three points.
Wolfsburg halted their six-game losing run after playing to a goalless stalemate with Hertha Berlin at Volkswagen Arena.
Hertha thought they were ahead on the stroke of half-time after Niklas Stark found the back of the net with a header from a corner but the goal was chalked off for a foul in the box.
The second stanza did not produce much goal-mouth action, as the sides shared the spoils.