Marco Reus moved into joint-second in the all-time Borussia Dortmund scoring charts as Edin Terzic's side edged three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 victory over title rivals RB Leipzig this evening.
Reus brought up his landmark 159th goal for the club to move level with Michael Zorc, with only 177-goal Alfred Preissler now ahead of him in the all-time list.
The Dortmund skipper won and converted a penalty midway through the first half, after Julian Brandt had already seen a goal chalked off for handball.
Emre Can then doubled Dortmund's advantage before half time, and the title hopefuls held on for all three points after Emil Forsberg pulled one back for Leipzig 15 minutes from time.
The win takes Dortmund three points clear of Bayern Munich, who face Stuttgart on Saturday, while they now sit six points above Union Berlin and seven ahead of Leipzig.
The hosts looked to have made a dream start to the match when Brandt turned home Jude Bellingham's cross after only 13 minutes, but a VAR check ruled that there had been a handball in the buildup.
Dortmund would not have to wait too much longer for the breakthrough, though, as Reus tucked away a penalty after being felled by Leipzig keeper Janis Blaswich in the area.
Blaswich was again at fault for Dortmund's second, as he allowed Can's bobbling but relatively tame half-volley from the edge of the box in, only succeeding in palming the ball into the net when trying to push it away.
Dortmund struggled to fully capitalise on their two-goal advantage and put the game to bed, though, allowing Leipzig to get back into the contest and threaten a late comeback.
Forsberg halved the deficit when he slid home at the back post to convert David Raum's low cross/shot.
However, Terzic's men held on for another crucial three points in their title charge, putting the pressure back on Bayern.
The victory continues Dortmund's faultless form so far this calendar year, making it 10 consecutive victories across all competitions since returning from the winter break.
That run includes an eight-match winning streak in the Bundesliga too, equalling their longest-ever run within a single campaign.
Leipzig, meanwhile, have lost their first away game since September and could now end the weekend outside of the Champions League places depending on Freiburg's result against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.
Barney Corkhill
