Football News : Dortmund close in on second Bundesliga title

Borussia Dortmund players congratulate each other after beating Schalke on Saturday to all but seal the Bundesliga title

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Borrusia Dortmund on the brink of second successive Bundesliga title after 2-1 win against Schalke


• Nearest rivals Bayern Munich play our goalless draw to leave Jurgen Klopp's team eight points clear

(CNN) -- Borussia Dortmund are a step closer to successfully defending their Bundesliga title after coming from behind to beat Schalke 2-1 on Saturday.

With nearest rivals Bayern Munich only managing a 0-0 draw at home to Mainz, Jurgen Klopp's team are now eight points clear at the top of the table with only three games left.

"It feels good, but no, nothing has been decided yet. In the last few days we have beaten the second and third placed teams in the table, so this team has earned their place at the top," the Dormund manager said after the game.

Dortmund sink Bayern

In the last few days we have beaten the second and third placed teams in the table, so this team has earned their place at the top
Jurgen Klopp

Peru striker Jefferson Farfan opened the scoring for Schalke in the ninth minute -- his shot from the edge of the penalty area taking a deflection off Shinji Kagawa.

But Dortmund were soon back on level terms when Polish international Lukasz Piszczek scored from a tight angle eight minutes later.

Captain Sebastian Kehl then scored Dormund's decisive second in the 63rd minute to secure the win and set a new Bundesliga record of 25 consecutive games without defeat.

At the other end of the table, Kaiserslautern will almost certainly be playing in Bundesliga 2 next season after they went down to a 2-0 home defeat to Nuremberg.

The defeat leaves them nine points from safety.

Second-from-bottom Hertha Berlin are still staring down the barrel despite coming back to claim a point in a 3-3 draw away to Bayer Levekusen.

The home side were 2-0 up and Hertha finished the game with ten men -- captain Levan Kobiashvili sent off for a challenge on Swiss forward Eren Derdiyok -- but still salvaged a draw.

Three goals in a frantic period midway through the second half saw them on the brink of a valuable win before Stefan Kiessling equalised for the hosts in the 83rd minute.

Cologne, who are also in danger of being relegated, travel to Moenchengladbach on Sunday.

In other matches played Saturday, 15th-placed Augsburg gave their survival chances a boost with a 2-1 at Wolfsburg.

Hamburg, who are one place above Augsburg, also improved their prospects with a 1-0 win against Hanover.