A Sebastian Rode strike and Andreas Beck's own-goal was enough to earn a hard-fought win for Bayern Munich against Hoffenheim, who are now within touching distance of another Bundesliga title.
Markus Gisdol was desperate to bring Hoffenheim back to winning ways, especially after being rewarded with a two-year contract extension. He opted to field a largely similar side to that which was beaten by 1. FC Köln, with Sven Schipplock, Nadiem Amiri and Jin-Su Kim being replaced by Anthony Modeste, Primin Schwegler and Jeremy Toljan.
Bayern came into the game after defeat to Porto and the exodus of their main medical man, Dr. Wohlfahrt. Pep Guardiola was under pressure following the loss and he revamped the side from their last Bundesliga game. Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm and Thiago all dropped out and Manuel Neuer, Holger Badstuber, Sebastian Rode and Gianluca Gaudino came in.
Neither side were able to make any real ground in the opening few minutes. Bayern threatened to break through, but some staunch defending from Hoffenheim kept them at bay. Anthony Modeste went closest with a fine header, though it drifted just wide of Manuel Neuer's left-hand post.
What the game lacked in the clearest of clear-cut chances, it was interesting watch with both sides giving their all. Mitchell Weiser's tempting cross picked out Robert Lewandowski ten yards out, though he couldn't direct it goalwards.
The majority of chances were coming from the flanks, though Dante misjudged a through ball down the left and Modeste went one-on-one with Neuer. He was unable to replicate the efforts of Jackson Martinez in the week, as the Bayern stopper produced a magnificent save with his legs.
That proved to be crucial and the champions went ahead moments later. Oliver Baumann made a good first stop from Thomas Müller, though Lewandowski gathered the loose ball and set it up for Sebastian Rode to dance past two defenders and fire into the corner. It was more Arjen Robben-esque than the former-Frankfurt man was used to, but an impressive finish nevertheless.
Hoffenheim had a penalty appeal turned down when Eugen Polanski was tripped by goalscorer Rode, though Tobias Stieler waved away the appeals. There was one final chance before half-time and Kevin Volland would have felt he could have done better with a flicked header; that drifted past the post and meant Bayern had the lead at the break.
Bayern came out firing after the half-time whistle and nearly edged ahead further, only for Andreas Beck's block to flick Lewandowski's curling effort onto the bar. Volland and Roberto Firmino were still searching for a breakthrough but it was a particularly quiet day for the latter.
Müller was denied by a super stop from Baumann, not even the Bayern man could quite believe that he'd managed to pull it away from goal. Hoffnehim were dealt a blow for their next game when both Volland and Beck were booked, meaning they'd miss the game against Hannover. There was time for Bayern to nab a second, as Beck unfortunately put through his own net.
The champions-elect held on to secure another three points which were fully deserved. They're now thirteen points clear of Wolfsburg and could win the title against Hertha BSC next weekend, just like last year, if results go their way in the coming matchdays. Hoffenheim's third defeat in a row means they've lost further ground on the top six, but will fancy their chances to pull themselves back into contention against Hannover 96 next Saturday.