Borussia Dortmund restored the gap on leaders Bayern Munich to five points with a 2-0 victory over Mainz yesterday.
Marco Reus finished on the half hour after a strong run and perfectly weighted pass by Gonzalo Castro, and Shinji Kagawa netted from close range in the 73rd minute.
Mainz beat Bayern 2-1 in their last away game but could not deal as well with Dortmund, who are unbeaten this year and have now gone 17 home games without a defeat over two season.
Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel saw his former club defend well for 25 minutes but the home side began to combine dangerously after going in front.
Mainz had to thank keeper Loris Karius who foiled Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang three times in a minute shortly after the break.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan blasted over the bar from a good position after being set up by Reus, and the midfielder then saw an effort saved by Karius after an Aubameyang shot came off a defender. Reus was the next to squander a chance with a shot over the bar after the ball was pulled by Mkhitaryan.
But the second goal which had threatened finally came when Mkhitaryan found Aubameyang, who had time on the left to square the ball across goal for Kagawa to finish into an open goal.
A third goal should have followed when Aubameyang raced clear but instead of finishing himself, the striker passed to Mikhitaryan whose shot was blocked, and Marcel Schmelzer then screwed the ball high and wide of an open goal.
Despite the string of chances there was a subdued atmosphere in the Westfalenstadion for much of the second half after news that a fan had died of a heart attack and another was taken to hospital after reportedly collapsing.
Bayern, who thrashed Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday, have 66 points, while Dortmund move to 61, 16 points ahead of third-placed Hertha Berlin. Mainz are sixth on 40 points.
Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, ended a run of four league games without a win by beating visiting SV Hamburg 1-0. Hamburg midfielder Albin Ekdal turned a shot by Julian Brandt into his own net in the 18th minute to give Leverkusen the points.
Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt was back on the touchline after a three-match suspension to celebrate the win on his birthday. The only blot was the dismissal of defender Tin Jedvaj following two yellow cards in quick succession in stoppage time - first for time wasting, then for a gesture towards the referee. Leverkusen move to seventh on 39 points, one place outside a Europa League qualifying place. Hamburg are 12th on 31 points.

Fan dies during Bundesliga match
Dortmund: A spectator collapsed and died and another was admitted to hospital during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Mainz in the Bundesliga yesterday, the club said. Dortmund said via Twitter that efforts were made to reanimate two people during the game. One spectator died and another was reported in a stable condition in hospital.
Supporters in the Westfalenstadion fell largely silent for the rest of the match after the fatality became known during the second half.
They broke out in a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” shortly before the final whistle and again after the match when Dortmund players stood in the penalty area and linked arms facing fans in the South Bank behind the goal.
Club president Reinhard Rauball thanked supporters for their solidarity. “I can only compliment the supporters on the way they reacted. This is something I have not experienced in this form before,” he told Sky television.


Results
Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Ekdal 18-og) Hamburg 0
Borussia Dortmund 2 (Reus 30, Kagawa 73) Mainz 0
On Saturday:  Borussia Moenchengladbach 3 (Stindl 36, Raffael 53, Dahoud 79) Eintracht Frankfurt 0  Hanover 96 0 Cologne 2 (Bittencourt 43, 61)
Hoffenheim 1 (Kramaric 3) Wolfsburg 0
Ingolstadt 3 (Hartmann 4, Leckie 56, Lezcano 61) VfB Stuttgart 3 (Kostic 9, Rupp 79, Didavi 84-pen)
Darmstadt 2 (Vrancic 12, Wagner 40) Augsburg 2 (Feulner 63, Finnbogason 90-pen)
Bayern Munich 5 (Alcantara 9, 90, Mueller 31, 65, Lewandowski 86) Werder Bremen 0
On Friday: Hertha Berlin 2 (Ibisevic 42, Stark 65) Schalke 04 0

Fan dies during Bundesliga match
Dortmund: A spectator collapsed and died and another was admitted to hospital during Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 victory over Mainz in the Bundesliga yesterday, the club said. Dortmund said via Twitter that efforts were made to reanimate two people during the game. One spectator died and another was reported in a stable condition in hospital.
Supporters in the Westfalenstadion fell largely silent for the rest of the match after the fatality became known during the second half.
They broke out in a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” shortly before the final whistle and again after the match when Dortmund players stood in the penalty area and linked arms facing fans in the South Bank behind the goal.
Club president Reinhard Rauball thanked supporters for their solidarity. “I can only compliment the supporters on the way they reacted. This is something I have not experienced in this form before,” he told Sky television.