Harry Kane netted his 24th league goal of the season as Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-0 win at Heidenheim on Saturday, pushing the Bavarians closer to securing the Bundesliga title.
Kane was joined on the scoresheet by Konrad Laimer, Kingsley Coman, and Joshua Kimmich.
The win extended Bayern's lead to nine points over second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who face St. Pauli on Sunday.
"It was a very important step toward the title," Kimmich told Sky Germany.
"We're now nine points ahead – and Leverkusen has to win. But we're not really looking at them. We have to win at least two more games to secure the title."
Stung by Wednesday's Champions League quarterfinal elimination at Inter Milan, Bayern were ruthless. Kane, still seeking his first team trophy of his career, took the ball on the turn and lashed home with 12 minutes gone.
The England captain, who joined Bayern in the summer of 2023, now has 60 goals in his first 60 Bundesliga games.
Seven minutes later, Laimer latched onto a clever Serge Gnabry pass and clipped the ball past Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Mueller.
Coman was on hand to tap in after Mueller saved a shot from Raphael Guerreiro in the 36th minute. Kimmich then cut the ball into the corner from a Guerreiro pass with 56 minutes gone, sealing the result with just his second goal in his 46th game for Bayern this season.
Bayern could clinch their 34th German title as early as next week if results go their way.
In Saturday's late game, Union Berlin guaranteed first-division football for next season with a 4-4 home draw against Stuttgart.
All eight goals were scored in the opening half, the first time in Bundesliga history that so many goals had been scored before the break.
Union went two goals up when Andrej Ilic and Diogo Leite scored from set pieces, but Stuttgart hit back to level at 2-2 through Deniz Undav and Enzo Millot.
Union regained the lead thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Leopold Querfeld, before Stuttgart's Jeff Chabot and Chris Fuehrich scored two in three minutes. Ilic struck again in first-half stoppage time to level the scores.
No goals were scored after halftime, meaning the all-time German record of 12 goals in one game remained intact.
RB Leipzig's top-four hopes took a hit with a 1-1 home draw against last-placed Holstein Kiel.
Japanese striker Shuto Machino put the visitors in front a minute before halftime, with Leipzig equalizing from the spot through Benjamin Sesko in the 74th minute when Lois Openda was fouled in the box.
Openda looked to have scored with a curling, long-range effort with 13 minutes remaining, but the Belgian was flagged for offside.
Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi collided with Kiel's Steven Skrzybski midway through the second half and was stretchered from the field.
Mainz, however, failed to take advantage of Leipzig's struggles, drawing 2-2 at home against Wolfsburg despite leading for most of the match.
Wolfsburg veteran Maximilian Arnold gave his side the lead after just three minutes, but Mainz wrestled control back with two goals in four first-half minutes through Lee Jae-sung and Dominik Kohr.
Denis Vavro headed Wolfsburg level in the final minute, denting Mainz's chance of a first-ever Champions League qualification in their history.
Freiburg also boosted their European hopes with a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim, with Lucas Hoeler scoring a brace.
Freiburg sit fifth, a point behind Leipzig and one ahead of Mainz in sixth.
Werder Bremen beat Bochum 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mitchell Weiser, helping their own European chances while deepening their opponents' relegation woes.
Bochum, who have beaten Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund this season, sit second to last and are nine points from safety with four games remaining.
