Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich had to survive some relentless pressing from champions Bayer Leverkusen to escape with a 0-0 draw in their top-of-the-table clash on Saturday and maintain their eight-point advantage at the summit.
Leverkusen, in second place and desperate to cut Bayern's lead, completely outplayed the visitors in the first half, with their high pressing game wreaking havoc in the Bayern defence.
The hosts twice hit the woodwork through Jeremie Frimpong and Nathan Tella, with Florian Wirtz orchestrating almost every attack that kept their opponents pinned in their own half.
It was much of the same after the break, with Leverkusen pressing high and the Bavarians, who did not have a single effort towards goal for more than 70 minutes, working overtime in defence to keep the hosts at bay.
The result lifted Bayern to 55 points. Leverkusen, whose coach Xabi Alonso is now unbeaten against Bayern in his first six matches against them, are in second place on 47.
DORTMUND LOSE AGAIN, STUTTGART MISS CHANCE AT FOURTH
Borussia Dortmund's Bundesliga slide continued on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at lowly Bochum, while Stuttgart missed a chance to climb to fourth, losing 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg.
Bochum, who started the game in last place, grabbed control in the first half when winter loan signing Georgios Masouras scored two goals in three minutes.
Masouras tapped a low Philipp Hofmann shot in from close range after 33 minutes and then pounced on a terrible back-pass from Niklas Suele to double the lead two minutes later.
Dortmund have won just one of their past seven league games, five of which were defeats, and sit 11th, eight points off the top four.
Stuttgart failed to take advantage of fourth-placed Leipzig's scoreless draw at Augsburg on Friday, giving up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 at home against Wolfsburg.
Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade came off the bench to put the hosts ahead after 72 minutes with a superb solo goal, but Wolfsburg hit back five minutes later when Tiago Tomas tapped in a Mohamed Amoura assist.
With five minutes remaining, Stuttgart's Josha Vagnoman handled the ball in the box, bringing Amoura to the spot.
The Algerian nervelessly converted to grab all three points and lift the visitors to eighth, keeping alive their hopes of European football for the first time since 2022.
Elsewhere, Freiburg overcame a poor first-half penalty miss from Vincenzo Grifo to win 1-0 at St Pauli thanks to an own goal from Philipp Treu with two minutes remaining.
Grifo tried a Panenka from the spot in the 45th minute but his limp effort was easily saved.
In the dying stages, Treu, a former Freiburg player, diverted a shot into his own net. The visitors climbed to fifth on the table.
First half goals from Lukas Ullrich and Tim Kleindienst took Borussia Moenchengladbach to a win 2-1 at Union Berlin, who pulled one back from the spot in the second half through Andrej Ilic.
The win took Gladbach to seventh, three points behind Leipzig in fourth.
Later on Saturday, league leaders Bayern Munich play at second-placed defending champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern sit eight points ahead of Xabi Alonso's side and could strike a major blow in the title race with victory.
