体坛英语新闻：Bayern remains the measure of all things in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite extending their winning streak Bayern have to wait for their 24th title as pursuers Dortmund and Schalke wrapped victories in Bundesliga on Saturday.

Runaway leaders Bayern Munich extended their unbeaten run to 51 games yet the Bavarians have to wait to get their hands on the Bundesliga title as Dortmund and Schalke upset their plans with triumphs. However, Bayern carries their chance to crown themselves to Tuesday, if they clinch a win over Berlin.

Mainz made Bayern's life difficult as the hosts decided to attack the German giants instead of defending deep. The visitors seemed surprised by Mainz resilient performance. Thus, Koo Ja Cheol and Eric-Maxim Choupo Moting fired off warning shots to test Bayern's custodian Manuel Neuer.

Mainz opportunities were a wakening call for the front-runners as Pep Guardiola's men piled on the pressure to put things on the right track. Bastian Schweinsteiger broke the deadlock at the 82nd minute when he headed home Xherdan Shaqiri's cross from the left wing.

The late opener took the wind out of Mainz' sails as Mario Goetze made it 2-0 tapping into the open goal following a build up play and square pass by Frenchman Franck Ribery four minutes later. Bayern lead the standings with 74 points, followed by Dortmund with 51 points, meanwhile Mainz slip from fifth to sixth place with 41 points.

Dortmund reaped a comfortable 3-0 victory over Hannover to postpone Bayern's title party. With the victory Juergen Klopp's men defended their second place in the standings, meanwhile Hannover occupy 11th place

Hannover caught the better start but despite their chances they had to watch Dortmund opening the scoring two minutes before the break as Mats Hummels tapped in a goal from five meters.

After the restart both sides neutralized their actions therefore Robert Lewandowski staged a solo run and goal to double the lead for hosts at the 52nd minute.

Hannover failed to put up some resistance while Dortmund were able to triple the lead in the dying minutes of the game through Marco Reus, who rounded off the 3-0 win from a sharp angle.

Schalke remain in touching distance of second placed Dortmund, as the "Royal Blues" sealed a 3-1 victory over bottom side Braunschweig.

Schalke staged a dominant performance from the opening against visitors from Braunschweig. It took just 17 minutes before the hosts rewarded themselves with the lead when Leon Goretzka hammered home from 25 meters.

The "Royal Blues" kept the pace to extend their lead at the 66th minute as Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored with a dead ball goal from 27 meters.

Braunschweig pulled one back against the run of the play when Benkamin Kessel made it 2-1 on the score sheets. However, Schalke's Adam Szalai restored the two-goal lead in the closing period to secure the 15th win of the season.

Schalke remain on third place with 50 points whilst Braunschweig sit on the bottom with just 18 points.

Elsewhere, Wolfsburg and Augsburg share the spoils in the hunt of a place in Europe following a 1-1 draw.

Monchengladbach reaped the first win in 2014 when they edged Berlin 3-0 and joker Alexandru Maxim donated a winner for relegation threatened Stuttgart to ensure a 1-0 win over 10-men Hamburg.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Sunday: fourth-placed Leverkusen host Hoffenheim and Nuremberg see Hoffenheim.