Thomas Muller said he was "a happy man" after scoring only his second Bundesliga goal of the season as Bayern Munich moved 13 points clear at the top with a 1-0 win at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Gladbach keeper Jan Sommer had kept defending champions Bayern at bay until just after the hour mark, when Muller converted a perfect through ball from Thiago on his 250th Bundesliga appearance.
RB Leipzig's 3-0 defeat at Werder Bremen on Saturday saw the surprise challengers fall further behind as Bayern move inexorably towards a 26th Bundesliga title.
"We knew the situation before the game and we really wanted to win," match-winner Muller told Sky Deutschland.
"You could see that from our first-half performance, when we really put them under pressure.
"But it's funny in football -- last week against Frankfurt we played far worse yet still led 2-0 at the break. Today we had a lot more chances, but it was somehow 0-0 at the break.
"That's why we love football, it's so variable."
Commenting on only his second league goal of the campaign, he said: "I don't know if you can call it 'typical Muller' but I got a goal. Of course it's a nice day for me."
Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was disappointed that the breakthrough did not come earlier, though he was overall satisfied with the three points.
"Our first-half performance was really really good but we failed to get a goal in the first 45 minutes," he said. "We continued to press after the break and finally got the goal. I'm very pleased with my team's performance."