A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double saw Borussia Dortmund at least temporarily cut the gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich with a 2-0 win over Ingolstadt, while Hertha Berlin played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen.
Dortmund benefited from a stroke of good fortune when the referee ruled defender Mats Hummels had been fouled before inadvertently sending a backpass over the head of goalkeeper Roman Burki and into his own net.
And Aubameyang made the most of that reprieve, heading home a 77th-minute opener from close range and then making sure of the points with his second nine minutes later.
The win sees Dortmund pull within five points of Bayern, who host Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Dortmund also now have a 10-point advantage over third-placed Hertha after the capital club were left to settle for a share of the spoils from a thrilling encounter at the Weserstadion.
Vladimir Darida’s stunning long-range effort and Marvin Plattenhardt’s fine free-kick gave Hertha a 2-0 lead at half-time before Fin Bartels pulled one back for Werder with an excellent individual effort.
Salomon Kalou looked to have made the points safe as the Hertha forward restored their two-goal lead in the 71st minute, only for Werder to make sure of a draw with two goals in three minutes.
Claudio Pizarro converted a 75th-minute penalty after Anthony Ujah was fouled in the area and Santiago Garcia headed home the leveller from a corner two minutes later.
Despite their comeback, Werder occupy the relegation play-off place after Stuttgart recorded their third league win in a row in Saturday’s late game, Artem Kravets’ 88th-minute header ensuring a 2-1 victory over Hamburg.
Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke both leapfrogged Borussia Monchengladbach following their loss at Mainz on Friday.
Javier Hernandez took his tally for the season to 13 league goals with a brace – including one from spot – as Leverkusen beat bottom club Hannover 3-0 and Max Meyer and Leroy Sane were on target in Schalke’s 2-0 success at Darmstadt.
Elsewhere, Augsburg drew 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt.
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