Bundesliga pacesetters Borussia Dortmund responded to their first league defeat of the season with a pulsating 2-1 win on Friday night over second placed Borussia Moenchengladbach. Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus were on target either side of a Christoph Kramer' strike.
The success for Lucien Favre's men over one of his former clubs moved them nine points clear of their opponents.
However, that lead could be reduced to six on Saturday night if Bayern Munich win at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Eighteen-year-old Sancho gave Dortmund the advantage after 42 minutes in front of just over 81,000 fans at the Signal Iduna Park.
But the home faithful's glee was cut short in first-half stoppage time when Kramer lashed home following a goalmouth scramble that appeared to involve a handball.
Referee Felix Zwayer awarded the goal after checking the video assistant referee.
Reus, who spent three years at Gladbach, made it 2-1 to Dortmund nine minutes into the second half.
Dortmund's next fixture after the winter pause is on 19 January at RB Leipzig
"You could see in the last 20 minutes that we were on our knees," said Reus.
"A few weeks break will do us good so that we can attack again in the new year. The job is half done."
Dortmund are seeking their first Bundesliga crown since 2012. After 17 of their 34 games, their statistics show 44 goals scored and 18 conceded in 13 victories, three draws and one defeat.
That loss came on 18 December at Fortuna Dusseldorf.
"We deserved the win against Gladbach," said Favre. "And now a few days of holiday."
