The Japan Times - Record-breaking Bayern march closer to Bundesliga title

Leon Goretzka's 53rd-minute goal, Bayern's second of the match, brought up 102 league goals this season, breaking a previous mark set by the Bavarian giants in 1971-72.

Top scorer Harry Kane was left on the bench but Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise, Nicolas Jackson and Raphael Guerreiro joined Goretzka on the scoresheet as Bayern pulled 12 points clear of Borussia Dortmund, who lost to Bayer Leverkusen earlier on Saturday.

With five matches remaining this season, defending champions Bayern can win the title as early as next week at home against Stuttgart.

Mindful of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Real Madrid, Bayern left Kane, Luis Diaz, Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah on the bench.

The missing firepower mattered little as Musiala headed the visitors in front with nine minutes gone.

Early in the second half, Goretzka turned the ball in from close range to best a record the Bavarians set over half a century ago with a side featuring club legends Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Mueller.

Olise added another just a minute later. Kane replacement Jackson got one of his own and Guerreiro scored late to round out the victory and up the record to 105.

- Andrich sinks Dortmund -

Robert Andrich hit a long-range strike late in the first half as Leverkusen became just the second team to beat Dortmund in the league this season with a 1-0 away victory.

Dortmund, whose two previous defeats this season came against Bayern, remain eight points clear in second place despite their four-game winning streak coming to an end.

A day after extending his deal at the club to 2031, Nico Schlotterbeck received a smattering of boos and whistles from the home fans amid reports he had a release clause for this summer inserted into his contract.

"We're really happy Schlotti extended," centre-back partner Waldemar Anton told DAZN. "He didn't deserve the boos. That hurts the team, everyone in the stands needs to know that. It's nonsense and it's not something we can accept."

Stoic and risk averse under coach Niko Kovac, Dortmund were uncharacteristically fluid in attack in the opening half hour but Andrich broke through for the visitors in simple fashion.

The Germany midfielder intercepted a Ramy Bensebaini pass and took a touch before blasting a low shot into the bottom corner past Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Dortmund's best chance came with seven minutes remaining when Serhou Guirassy collected a Carney Chukwuemeka pass and hit the underside of the crossbar.

Yan Diomande's 81st-minute effort boosted RB Leipzig's hopes of a top-four finish, securing a 1-0 home win over Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Diomande's late winner lifted third-placed Leipzig three points clear of Stuttgart, who face Hamburg at home on Sunday, with Leverkusen a point further back in fifth.

The goal continued the 19-year-old's impressive debut Bundesliga season, in which he has scored 11 times.

Leipzig captain David Raum praised the teenage winger, calling him "a player with world-class potential".

Gladbach ultras unveiled a banner directed at academy product and captain Rocco Reitz, who will join Leipzig in the summer, which said: "Whoever wants what's here can never be our skipper."

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg lost 2-1 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt to slide closer to relegation.

Goals from Oscar Hojlund and Arnaud Kalimuendo left second-last Wolfsburg, who have won just once in 14 games in 2026, six points from safety.

Last-placed Heidenheim kept their slim hopes of beating the drop alive with a 3-1 home win over Union Berlin. The victory, Heidenheim's first since early December, took them two points behind Wolfsburg and eight from fourth-bottom Cologne.

T.Maeda--JT